


the miseducation of cheryl blossom

by endofdaysforme



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, but i promise there will be a happy ending!, nothing can get in the way of choni or beronica tbh, so please don't read this if that's triggering, there will be a lot of anti-gay talk and conversion therapy, this is going to be SO angsty and also triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-06-09 06:33:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15261504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endofdaysforme/pseuds/endofdaysforme
Summary: the day cheryl blossom’s life ends is the day she’s caught kissing heather hathaway in the back of her cherry red convertible.--OR when cheryl blossom is caught kissing another girl at prom night, her mother sends her off to the sisters of quiet mercy to be "re-educated", not knowing that she's sending her right into the arms of two lifelong best friends and a certain pink haired serpent who just so happens to be her soulmate.--OR, a fic dedicated to and very loosely based on 'the miseducation of cameron post'.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! i know i'm already working on a fic, i promise i haven't abandoned that one, i'll be working on both of them. i just finished reading the miseducation of cameron post and watched the trailer for the film and felt like writing a choni inspired version would be great, so that's what i'm doing.
> 
> comments are loved, and i hope you guys enjoy this first chapter! warning, this fic is going to be very dark, and there will be a lot of anti-gay talk and conversion therapy, so please, please, do not read this fic if that stuff triggers you! 
> 
> i promise a happy ending, but these girls are in for a horrible experience that i hope strengthens them by the end.

the day cheryl blossom’s life ends is the day she’s caught kissing heather hathaway in the back of her cherry red convertible. 

 

security at riverdale high has always been incredibly strict, the school often feeling like a prison with the way security roamed the halls with batons swinging, observant eyes watchful for any sign of drug use or illegal gang activity ever since it became known that the southside serpents had begun dealing drugs to the northside of riverdale. 

 

it was a personal mission of not only principal weatherbee, but mayor mccoy to make sure that any and all mention or use of the drug ‘jingle jangle’ was erased from the history books of the small, quaint town of riverdale. 

 

it’s prom night. and cheryl is crowned prom queen, the crown atop her fiery red, perfectly curled hair fitting like a glove, making her queenly presence only more personified as she looks down at her fellow students with an air of finesse and smugness.

 

for there was no doubt in absolutely anyone’s mind that cheryl blossom was going to be crowned prom queen on this night. cheryl was the queen b, the head honcho, the heiress of riverdale high and riverdale itself. after all, her parents owned the major supplier of maple syrup within not only riverdale, but the entire state of new york.

 

money followed them everywhere they went, proof in the ten million dollar manor on thornhill they lived in and the thirteen thousand dollar dress currently adorning cheryl’s curvaceous body. 

 

but for all the glitz and glamour, for all the money she owns thanks to her parents, is a dark, dark secret. one that cheryl keeps close to her heart, for fear that if her parents were to discover it, the bruises already covering her alabaster skin would multiply by tenfold.

 

cheryl’s always felt an attraction for both boys and girls. the label of ‘bisexual’ was one she wore somewhat proudly but privately, a pink, blue and purple flag pin adorned on the inside of her bag for only her to see every time she opened it to retrieve something, a smile lighting her face every time her eyes land on the small object tethered to the inside pocket. 

her first interaction with attraction to those of the same sex had been when she was nine years old. she’d met a girl at sweet water river during a particularly sweltering summer, a girl with long brown hair and piercing green eyes that cheryl instantly fell in love with. she had spent every waking moment of that summer with the girl named samantha, both of them enjoying each other’s company so much that every time they had to depart, it was with tears falling down their faces and their arms wrapped around each other in a warm embrace.

 

it was unexpected, samantha’s departure from riverdale to manhattan, and cheryl had spent at least five weeks crying in her room about the fact that the girl she loved was gone. 

 

when her mother had discovered that she was crying over the loss of her best friend, she chastised her and told her to get over it. when her mother discovered that she was crying over the loss of her best friend who was also a _girl_ , cheryl had received five belt whips across her the back of her thighs and her mother screaming at her about having ‘deviant thoughts’ as punishment.

 

so for cheryl, her next conquest being a boy was relaxing, a breath of fresh air. her next beau had been a boy named ryland in junior high, a young boy and a young relationship that had only lasted four weeks and about five kisses (all of which, were boring and bland as far as cheryl was concerned) before cheryl had gotten bored and had decided that relationships were boring and she’d rather focus on her school work so she could grow up to be something, grow up to leave riverdale and her abusive, sadistic parents far behind in her rearview mirror.

 

it’s prom night. and cheryl blossom is crowned prom queen while reggie mantle cheers beside her, the crown atop his own raven hair barely fitting his gigantic head as he flexes his biceps and sticks his tongue out, laughing for the whole school to see, and cheryl can’t help but roll her eyes in disgust.

 

because of course, cheryl would be crowned prom queen beside the most idiotic prom king riverdale high had to offer.

 

she was kind of hoping that archie andrews would be crowned. at least he was remotely attractive, and was far more superior in every kind to reggie mantle. cheryl had kissed him once at a party as a dare, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t dreamt of archie andrews’s lips quite a lot after that. 

 

a simple crush that had only lasted a few months before she’d realized he was beneath her, really.

 

but cheryl doesn’t really mind, takes reggie’s hand and walks out onto the dance floor so they can share their first dance as prom king and queen, reggie’s hands gripping her waist before falling just a little lower, causing cheryl to glare up at him and grab his wrists to put them back up at her waist with a low growl.

 

“don’t even think about getting handsy, mantle.” she hisses, and he waggles his eyebrows with a grin, but respects her wishes and keeps his hands on her waist as she wraps her arms around his neck. 

 

the dance is quick and short, just how cheryl likes it, and as soon as the song is over and reggie is done dipping her in way too dramatic fashion, she pushes him off with a roll of her eyes and makes her way through the crowd, desperate to get away from the wolf whistling and the horny teenage boys for just a moment of _quiet._

 

a moment of reprieve so she can silently mourn the fact that she wasn’t dancing with anyone special to her heart tonight. for all her talk of finding relationships boring, cheryl finds herself sometimes craving _company,_ someone to hold…someone to love.

 

she has her twin brother, jason, but he’s in london studying, has been for the last two years, and cheryl would be lying if she said their relationship hadn’t become somewhat strained because of it. they used to be attached at the hip, jason her only defender against her mother’s spiteful words and open palmed slaps across the face. now, she’s lucky to receive a call from him even once a week.

 

cheryl’s used to people disappointing her, she should’ve realized jason would be no different.

 

what she doesn’t expect to find when she steps out into the cold air outside of riverdale high, is heather hathaway, a girl she’s exchanged maybe four sentences with in her entire time at riverdale high, outside in the parking lot of the school, smoking a cigarette and looking up at cheryl in surprise before she quickly goes to stub the cigarette out.

 

“shit, i-.”

 

“don’t.” cheryl says simply, and before heather can say anything else, cheryl’s making her way over to her, heels clacking on the asphalt road as she comes to a stop in front of heather and reaches for the cigarette in her hands. 

 

heather watches her with surprise, lip curling in a smirk and eyebrow raised as cheryl lifts the cigarette to her lips and takes a long drag.

 

The tobacco hits her immediately, her head becoming light as she inhales deeply and closes her eyes before exhaling.

 

“the woes of being prom queen, huh?” 

 

cheryl doesn’t have a response. all she can think about is how pretty heather looks under the soft lighting of the gym behind them and how much she’d really like to kiss her.

 

so heather doesn’t get the chance to say anything else before cheryl is grabbing her by the lapels of the leather jacket she’s wearing and pulling her forward, crashing her lips against heather’s and inhaling the smell of tobacco and cheap perfume as heather makes a noise of surprise before sliding her fingers into cheryl’s hair to grip it tightly.

 

cheryl doesn’t really know how they end up in the back of her convertible, isn’t even sure how they detach long enough to end up laying on the comfortable leather seats with heather pinned beneath her body, cheryl’s hands roaming up her tanned thighs and playing with the hem of her pink dress, but cheryl can’t get enough of heather’s lips, soft and supple against her cherry red ones, and every time she moans, a shiver runs up cheryl’s spine, her teeth nipping at heather’s bottom lip to elicit every possible sound she can from the blonde beneath her-

 

“hey! what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” 

 

and that’s how cheryl ends up here, with a busted lip and a bruised cheek as her mother screams down at her, high heeled feet digging into cheryl’s thigh as tears stream down both their faces. 

 

“i will not let you ruin this family’s reputation with that…that _disgusting, vile_ behavior, you foul child!” 

 

when her mother leaves, the sound of the lock on her room clicking shut and imprisoning her within, cheryl curls up on the ground and dreams of a different life.

 

a different life where she has a mother who loves her, who accepts her for who she is, a father who cares for her enough to ask her how her day is and if she’s okay, a brother who didn’t leave her behind to go study in london, friends who would be blowing up her phone right now, checking in on her to see if she needed anything…

 

but an undeniable truth is that with her popularity, with her ‘head bitch in charge’ attitude, comes solitude.

 

she’s alone.

 

and that thought breaks her, causing her to sob and wheeze with each spluttering breath as she wraps her arms around her own body in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

 

\-----------------

 

truthfully, cheryl feels like she should have seen this coming.

 

with a homophobic mother and a father who didn’t care enough about her to invest any time or effort into her (for all his affection and love went to her redheaded brother who currently lived half a world away), cheryl should’ve known that getting caught kissing heather hathaway would end in this.

 

she looks down at the paper in front of her with silent tears falling down her cheeks, her heart breaking with each word she reads. 

 

_“at the request of her mother and guardian, penelope blossom, we are happy to become the caretakers of one miss cheryl blossom, in our program to help deviant children learn the difference between right and wrong under the guidance of our lord, jesus christ. the sisters of quiet mercy would be delighted to welcome cheryl into our home.”_

 

“it requires only my signature, but i won’t have them dragging you out of this house by your hair, cheryl. i want you to do this willingly.” penelope says somewhat softly, but cheryl doesn’t miss the bite in her tone as she looks up from the paper in front of her and gazes in her mother’s brown eyes, the only thing she inherited from the monster she sees before her. 

 

“a gay conversion therapy camp?” she whispers, voice broken and filled with defeat, and penelope’s eyes close as she inhales deeply, almost as if the word ‘gay’ is haunted and cursed.

 

“don’t say ‘conversion’ like it’s a bad thing, honey. they aren’t going to strap you down and electrocute you. they’re just going to teach you that how you feel…how you feel isn’t _normal._ they’re going to help you overcome it.” 

 

clifford blossom utters the first words he’s said to cheryl in over eight weeks with a gentle smile, and cheryl finds herself wishing he’d kept his mouth shut and continued his streak of not talking to her for another eight weeks. 

 

she wants to scream. she wants to hit them and slap them and hurt them like they’ve hurt her, to make them feel the pain they’ve put her through for the last seventeen years of her life, to roar until her voice box tears that they’re her parents, that they’re supposed to love her for who she is, not who she loves…

 

but instead, she licks her lips, tongue glazing over the still open wound on her bottom lip as her fingers brush over her bruised cheek. 

 

“we can’t have this behavior becoming public, cheryl. it will destroy the family business. and you don’t want that, do you?” clifford whispers, with all the care of a man talking to a rodent, and not a man talking to his daughter.

 

“will this make you happy?” she whispers, and she doesn’t look up to witness penelope’s sigh of relief. 

 

“yes, cheryl. it will.” she says simply.

 

and with that, cheryl signs her name to the piece of paper in front of her with trembling hands, the signature coming out less than spectacular as penelope reaches out and brushes her thumb across the bruise she’s made on cheryl’s cheek, tears in her eyes before she leans in and presses a kiss to cheryl’s brow.

 

the first kiss she’s ever laid on her daughter’s skin.

 

“thank you, my darling girl.” 

 

it’s with those words echoing in her ear, the words of her mother _praising_ her, _loving_ her, that cheryl stands and smiles obediently, her mother gripping her hand tightly before she nods toward the entrance to the house.

 

“they’re waiting for you outside.” she whispers, and cheryl blinks once in surprise.

 

“already?” she croaks out, and penelope’s grip on her hand tightens slightly.

 

“we packed your bags last night. you’re all ready.” 

 

“will you visit, mommy?” she asks in a small voice, and penelope gives her a weak smile.

 

“of course, sweetheart.” She lies through pearly white teeth, and cheryl doesn’t even need a bullshit detector to see through her false claims, her bottom lip trembling as she simply nods and makes her way to the door.

 

she’s not sure why she’s agreeing to this. maybe because, for a fleeting moment, when her mother’s lips had met the skin above her brow, she’d felt love. maybe because, for a fleeting moment, she saw the life she could have, married to handsome man like archie andrews with a baby in her belly and her mother looking at her as if she holds her world in the palm of her hand. 

 

maybe because, for a fleeting moment, she believes the sisters of quiet mercy can help her get that happy ending.

 

maybe because, for a fleeting moment…she wished she _was_ normal. wished she wasn’t attracted to girls. wished she hadn’t seen anything beautiful in heather hathaway. 

 

two women are standing outside by a black sedan, looking all the part of sinister nuns with their attire and stance, and cheryl hesitates, her feet faltering before penelope all but gives her a push down the stairs to get her closer to the nuns.

 

“come with us, cheryl, dear…we’ll fix all those thoughts in your mind. we’ll help you be the girl your parents want you to be.” 

 

_the girl her parents want her to be…_

 

and with that, cheryl takes a deep breath in and takes the outstretched hand of the nun before her.

 

she’ll make them proud. she’ll erase these thoughts, she’ll be the perfect daughter.

 

because if she isn’t that, then what’s the point in her living?

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this has taken so long, i hope you guys enjoy it, however!

cheryl blossom has always been a proud person. proud of her attitude, proud of her bitchiness, proud of her above average gpa, proud of her popularity, proud of just how _perfect_ she was in everyone else’s eyes.

 

the perfect daughter, and the perfect person, with a beautiful body, a symmetrical face and stunning, long red hair that had every boy in riverdale swooning in awe and every girl in riverdale turning green with jealousy. 

 

cheryl blossom has always been _proud_ of herself. 

 

pulling up to the sisters of quiet mercy in a car with strangers she barely knows, however, cheryl blossom feels nothing but regret and panic.

 

for once in her life, she’s not proud of the decision she’s made. because looking up at the decrepit old building that looks like it belongs in a haunted house attraction, cheryl feels like she’s made a gigantic mistake.

 

she’d been so caught up in her mother pressing a kiss to her brow, she hadn’t even stopped to _think_ for even a second what she was getting herself into.

 

this place reeks of terror and fear.

 

it’s gaunt, ancient looking, with statues of angels littered around the place. it looks like it was pulled straight out of an anne rice novel, and cheryl can feel it deep in her bones that this place is not a “camp” as her monster of a mother had told her. she’d read through that paragraph a hundred times, but cheryl should’ve read it a hundred times more until it was imprinted into her brain so that every time she closed her eyes, the words would be there behind her eyelids. 

 

a program. that’s what the paragraph had said. her father had assured her that she wouldn’t be strapped down to a table and electrocuted, but looking up into this building, there’s no way there isn’t something more sinister at play here.

 

she’s royally fucked herself over now, she’ so screwed-

 

the car comes to a screeching stop, causing cheryl to lurch forward so hard, the seatbelt cuts into her collarbone painfully, and she winces as she grips it and leans backwards away from it as the nun who had introduced herself as sister woodhouse pulls the handbrake up and turns to look at her with a wide smile, yellowing teeth on full display for cheryl to curl her lip in disgust at.

 

“welcome to your new home, cheryl blossom.” sister woodhouse says with a tight smile that doesn’t at all reach her eyes, and cheryl swallows the lump in her throat and tries to force herself not to _panic_ despite the fact that her heart is literally pounding so loudly she can feel the blood rushing to her head with each erratic beat. 

 

sister woodhouse exits the car, the other nun who cheryl had heard sister woodhouse call sister livingston, also exiting from the passenger seat as the door next to cheryl opens, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. sister woodhouse extends her hand for cheryl to take.

 

cheryl hesitates, just for a brief moment, because there’s always a chance she can just rush over to the other side of this car and leg it out of here-

 

“come on, cheryl, dear.” sister woodhouse says, a bit of bite in her tone as her yellowing teeth shine once more in a fake smile that has all the hidden meaning of threat behind it, so much so that it has cheryl unclipping her seatbelt with trembling fingers before she takes sister woodhouse’s outstretched hand.

 

sister woodhouse’s fingers are fucking freezing despite the fact that summer is fast approaching so the weather is quite hot, and cheryl thinks it’s probably because she doesn’t have a heart within her to beat blood to her limbs to give them warmth. 

 

she’s seriously pondering the possibility that she’s just entered a lair of vampires when sister woodhouse all but drags her out of the car, cheryl grunting slightly in surprise from her roughness before she purses her lips and drops her gaze down to her shoes.

 

she’d barely had time to put proper shoes on, simple black ballet shoes adorning her feet, denim jeans covering her legs, and her favorite cotton sweater with cherries all over it covering the rest of her body, her hair in a lose side ponytail that’s at risk of falling out completely as sister woodhouse leads her to the stairs.

 

“now, once we get past reception, we’ll take you to your quarters where you’ll get changed. once you’re done, we’ll take you to the cafeteria. lunch will start in about half an hour, dear.” 

 

cheryl’s not exactly hungry, in fact, she feels nauseous more than anything, but she nods all the same, too afraid to do anything else, and she hates how timid she’s being, but she can’t help it.

 

she’s fucking petrified. she’s in a place she doesn’t know, with a woman who’s a complete stranger who has a vice like grip on her hand, dragging her into a building that looks like it belongs to the addams family. her parents had lied to her through her teeth and had told her this was just a program, a _group home_ for troubled youths that could fix her mind and help her become the perfect daughter they wanted her to be.

 

and god, cheryl wants that more than anything. she wants her mother to look at her with love for once instead of disdain and anger. wants her father to give a shit about her instead of ignoring her all the time like he does now. she wants to _mean_ something to the people she loves despite the fact that they don’t deserve an inch of the love she has to give. 

 

but this place doesn’t feel like it’s safe. 

 

god, what has she gotten herself into? 

 

they reach the stairs, cheryl going up each one with her legs wobbling like jelly to what she’s certain is her doom. she really fucked up here, she really, really fucked up-

 

fuck heather hathaway and her stupid, gorgeous face, to be honest.

 

sister woodhouse throws the doors open, and cheryl barely glances inside before she’s stopping dead in her tracks and almost turning to run as fast as her legs will carry her. panic settles deep within her chest and builds and builds until she’s on the verge of hyperventilating, and she doesn’t stay frozen for long before sister woodhouse is making a noise of disappointment and dragging her through the doors despite her resistance.

 

the lobby alone looks terrifying. drab and grey and filled with an aura of depression and insanity that clings to the air like a bad odor, and cheryl digs her heels into the ground to stop sister woodhouse from taking her an inch further.

 

“wait, i…”

 

“cheryl, we’re on a tight schedule.” sister woodhouse says with a tired sigh that’s laced with a hint of anger at the redhead, and her gaze reminds cheryl so much of her mother that she finds herself bowing her head in defeat, as if that steely gaze of the woman before her has somehow resulted in her automatic system shut down. it’s the same look her mother would give her when she was seconds away from receiving a beating, and cheryl really can’t handle another one after last night. sister woodhouse grips her bicep, practically dragging her along as tears well in cheryl’s eyes before she can stop them. 

 

“come now, cheryl, your room awaits.” sister livingston says behind her, and cheryl jumps slightly, unaware that she was even following them before she tries to swallow down her panic with a shake of her head.

 

“maybe…maybe i made a m-mistake-.” 

 

“the only mistake you can make here is not following the rules, cheryl. and you don’t want to disappoint your parents, do you?” sister livingston says with a stern look on her face as sister woodhouse drags cheryl to a stop in front of the reception desk which is covered with a glass window, like the ones at the bank that separate the tellers from the customers.

 

or in this case, the nuns from the kids they’re torturing.

 

she really fucking fucked up this time-

 

“i’ve brough penelope blossom’s daughter, cheryl blossom. she called last night about admitting her daughter to our ‘special’ program.” sister woodhouse says to the man behind the glass window, and he looks past sister woodhouse at cheryl with a wicked glint in his eyes and a smirk on his face as he picks at his teeth with the toothpick in his hands.

 

cheryl tries to hide the look of disgust on her face, but she’s pretty sure it doesn’t work, because the man scowls before reaching behind him to grab a basket. 

 

“phone, wallet, jewellery, you know the drill.” he drawls in a bored tone, and sister woodhouse turns to cheryl and looks her up and down.

 

“you’ll need to take off the necklace, the rings, and the earrings, cheryl. your phone is already in our position, but we’ll place it in the basket along with all your other things.” 

 

“wait, my phone? i’m…i’m not allowed to have my phone?” cheryl says in disbelief.

 

her social media accounts, her _brother…_

 

“no, dear. it’s a safety issue.” a safety issue? how the hell is it a safety issue? she needs to tell jason where she is-

 

“i-i need my phone, my brother calls me, and my friends-.”

 

“can handle not hearing from you for a while. if they have questions, i’m sure your mother will answer them. now, jewellery, cheryl.” sister woodhouse says with a tired sigh, and cheryl hesitates before she begins slipping off the rings on her trembling fingers, her lips pursed to stop herself from crying as sister livingston holds her phone out and places it into the basket as well.

 

her one ticket out of here is on that little rectangle device. she doesn’t have any friends to message and ask for help, but one message to jason and she’s sure he’ll book a one way ticket straight to riverdale to save her.

 

“can…can i just send one last message to my brother explaining that i’m going away for a while?” cheryl asks, and sister woodhouse smiles that fucking sickening smile as she chuckles and clicks her tongue disapprovingly.

 

“cheryl, your mother informed us that she’s already told your brother about you coming here. he’s quite happy that his sister is finally getting the help she needs.” she says, reaching out to rub an hand up and down cheryl’s arm soothingly, and cheryl feels any hope she had of getting out of here fade faster than the speed of sound. 

 

because it can’t be true that penelope blossom told her son that she was admitting cheryl to this place. jason would’ve protested immediately. he would’ve told her to at least wait until he got back to riverdale so they could _talk_ first…right? jason…jason wouldn’t allow her to just be thrown into some group home without wanting to see her first…

 

it’s not right. none of this is right-

 

cheryl has to pinch herself to stop from reaching out and grabbing her phone to call him and demand that he explain himself, and instead occupies herself with taking off her earrings and necklace. once she’s clear of all jewellery, she places them into the basket, her fingers brushing over her phone and causing a shiver to run up her spine at the possibility of just snatching it and running away, but she’s barely placed her jewellery down before the man snatches it back through the window, sighing as he slides a bunch of papers through to sister woodhouse.

 

“we’ve got her as patient twenty-seven.” he says gruffly, and cheryl feels her heart practically fall down to her feet, the word ringing in her mind like a bell falling down a tower before crashing to the ground and echoing loudly.

 

_patient?_

 

the receptionist pushes through the glass window what looks like clothes and dress shoes, and cheryl tries her best to stop herself from _shaking._

 

what the fuck did they mean, ‘patient’?

 

“sister woodhouse, i’m not a p-patient, am i?” cheryl manages to croak out, and sister woodhouse chuckles.

 

“of course not, dear. standard protocol, it’s just so we have a number for you. nothing to be worried about.” her voice is cheery, and if cheryl wasn’t so afraid, she’s pretty sure she’d knock her teeth in.

 

she’s trying so goddamn hard to channel the inner head bitch in charge, trying so hard to push through her fear to demand answers, or to demand that she be let go. she wants to be so bitchy right now, to yell and scream as demand that these hideous nuns take her back home, but she’s fucking scared. 

 

there’s something about this place that absolutely terrifies her, and it has everything to do with not only the atmosphere, but the general tension that seems to hang in the air like a pungent smell. every part of her feels like if she tries to run out of here, she’ll be stopped before she takes a single step.

 

and she can’t do _anything._ she signed the stupid fucking papers like an idiot, desperate to get her mother’s approval for once, not even realizing what she was doing in the process.

 

this is wrong. this is all so, so wrong, she doesn’t belong here, there’s nothing fucking wrong with her-

 

the sound of a loud buzzing echoes around them, causing cheryl to jump in fear as sister woodhouse grips her bicep once more and drags her over to a gated door that swings open on the left of the receptionist’s desk.

 

they pass the gated door, cheryl looking back at the entrance in despair as it slowly dawns on her that there’s no chance for freedom now. she’s about ninety nine percent sure that any requests _she_ makes to get out of here will fall on deaf ears.

 

she’s not leaving until her mother is satisfied she’s _changed._

 

there’s a buzzing sound again as the door slams shut and locks automatically, the large bolt sliding across the middle of the door and into the slot that it belongs in, and if cheryl had any doubts about this being a prison before, she doesn’t have them now.

 

_what has she done? what did she agree to? What has her **mother** done to her?_

 

god, a momentary lapse in sanity caused by her mother kissing her forehead for the first time _ever_ and this is what it results in. 

 

cheryl tries to avoid looking around, but the place is fucking awful. it _looks_ like a mental hospital. the hallways are dreary, grey walls that have chipped paint and holes from god only knows what, and it doesn’t actually dawn on cheryl that she hasn’t seen a single person other than the staff, which consists of either nuns or men and women in white nurses outfits until she hits the third hallway.

 

where the hell are the other so called ‘patients’? 

 

they could be in the cafeteria, but sister woodhouse said lunch wasn’t for another half hour-

 

cheryl hears what sounds like a muffled scream, and her heart jumps out of her throat with the violence of her surprise, her whole body trembling as she comes to a standstill.

 

“what was that?” she whispers, and sister woodhouse sighs.

 

“nothing to trouble your mind with, dear. perhaps someone has turned the volume up too loud on the movie playing in room eight. come along.” again, she doesn’t have a choice, sister woodhouse grips her bicep and practically drags her along, and cheryl’s starting to wonder if she’s been plopped down into an episode of american horror story because this can’t be _real._

 

but it is. it is fucking real and _she’s stuck here._

 

“sister woodhouse, please, i want to go back home-.”

 

“you’ll be in room fifty eight, cheryl.” sister woodhouse says, blatantly ignoring her before coming to a stop to a door labelled just that, and sister woodhouse retrieves keys from her pocket and shoves them into the door, opening it to reveal cheryl’s worst nightmare.

 

a room the size of her walk in wardrobe with only a bed and a dresser. 

 

there isn’t an ounce of color in the room, the bedframe is made of metal that’s rusting, a thin mattress that’s barely ten inches thick, and the dresser looks like it’s one push away from falling apart. there’s a small window at the back of the room that has bars over it to prevent what cheryl assumes is escape, and there’s a shelf above her bed that’s bolted and chained to the wall.

 

there’s nothing else. no toilet, no shower-

 

“a…a bathroom?” she manages to croak out, and sister woodhouse smiles. 

 

“you’ll have assigned shower times, dear, and the toilets are available whenever you need them. now, these are the uniform clothes you’ll be required to wear. we’ll be giving you one for now, but tomorrow i’ll bring you four extra pairs.” 

 

“uniform?” cheryl chokes out. a fucking _uniform?_ she didn’t need to wear a uniform at riverdale high, now she’s expected to do so in this…whatever the fuck this place is?

 

“yes, cheryl. a uniform.” sister woodhouse rests the clothes the receptionist had given her on top of the bed, cheryl’s eyes roaming over the red cardigan and blue, buttoned up dress in distaste.

 

god, the least they could’ve done is let her get tortured fashionably, now she’s being subjected to wearing _that_ day in and day out?

 

“we’ll let you get sorted! lunch is in half an hour, we’ll come and collect you when it’s ready.” sister woodhouse goes to walk out, and cheryl blinks once before she finds herself talking.

 

“collect me? what, I can’t leave my room?” she asks in disbelief, and again, sister woodhouse smiles, and it’s so damn irritating, it takes everything in cheryl not to punch her in her yellowing teeth.

 

“oh no, dear, you’re only allowed to leave your room during group activities, or if you’re doing the chores you’re assigned. oh, and of course, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” 

 

cheryl blinks once.

 

that’s…that’s not possible. this place can’t be that strict, can’t be that cruel-

 

“what?” she breathes, and sister woodhouse simply sighs.

 

“cheryl, you agreed to this when you signed the form.”

 

“the form was a paragraph that said you’d be happy to have me, nothing about this being a prison!” cheryl hisses, and sister woodhouse raises an eyebrow.

 

“cheryl, you’re not going to cause trouble on your first day, are you?” 

 

cheryl raises her head high.

 

you’re goddamn right cheryl blossom is going to cause trouble on her first day. she won’t stand for this, she won’t be treated like some common criminal when her only crime was _kissing another girl._

 

this is inhumane, it can’t possibly be legal-

 

“i want to speak to whoever runs this abysmal horror show! do you think my mother would allow you to bring me here if she knew this was the squalor i’d be living in?” she growls.

 

sister woodhouse stares at her blankly.

 

“i don’t know, cheryl, do you think she would?” 

 

silence.

 

cheryl has no rebuttal. all she has are the tears in her eyes and the knowledge that truthfully, _truthfully…_

 

“she wouldn’t care, would she, dear? because she sees you as deviant. as foul. as damaged…but we can change that, cheryl!” sister woodhouse reaches out, brushing away cheryl’s tears from her cheeks, and cheryl can’t help but flinch away from her touch, her bottom lip trembling as sister woodhouse smiles kindly. 

 

“we can help you become the daughter she wants you to be!” she whispers excitedly, and cheryl closes her eyes, an image playing in her mind…

 

_a future with a husband like archie andrews, with a baby in my belly and my mother looking at me like i have her whole world in the palm of my hand…_

 

she wants that future, she does, but not at this cost…

 

she doesn’t know what they’re going to do to her, and that terrifies her more than the possibility of her mother never loving her properly…

 

“sister woodhouse, please…just let me go back home, i can talk with my mother, i can promise her that i’ll behave-.”

 

“the only way we can make sure you do is by helping you through this program, dear. we can erase all those deviant thoughts, cheryl. we can help you be a better person, a person that the lord will deem fit to enter his heavenly gates upon your passing. would you really prefer burning in the flames of satan’s playground than basking in the heavenly clouds of god’s home? the lord sent us here to help those who are led astray. let us help you, cheryl.” 

 

this woman is fucking insane.

 

cheryl licks her lips and tries her best not to cry as she swallows the lump in her throat and shakes her head.

 

“sister woodhouse, the lord made me in his image. is that not what’s written in the bible? god doesn’t make mistakes, so what makes you think he did when he made me? what makes you think he doesn’t love me for who i am?” maybe if she appeals to the religious side of sister woodhouse, makes her _see_ that what she’s doing is sick, is wrong-

 

sister woodhouse’s eyes turn to steel, and she reaches out and taps cheryl’s cheek rather harshly, not a slap, but not a caress either, hitting the bruise flourishing her skin, and cheryl winces from the pain, but says nothing.

 

“don’t pretend to know what the lord does and does not love, cheryl. you have not spent years devoted to him as i have. now, change, and get yourself acquainted. like i said, we’ll come and collect you for lunch in half an hour.” she says coldly, and with that, sister woodhouse leaves her room, closing the door and locking it behind her, leaving cheryl in silence. 

 

silence that continues for five minutes as she quickly strips and holds out the “uniform” she now has to wear, which consists of a blue button down dress and a red cardigan, as well as black dress shoes. 

 

she puts the clothes on obediently before collapsing onto the bed in despair. the clothes itch her skin immediately, and she ducks down to put the dress shoes on, her heart aching with each movement before she sits up straight and allows herself to wallow in her silence for a few moments.

 

it doesn’t take long at all, maybe two minutes, before she’s breaking down, her whole body shaking with sobs as she heaves in as much air as she can through shuddering breathes. 

 

it’s over. she’s stuck in this hellhole with no way out. 

 

gay conversion therapy. that’s really what her life has become. her own mother threw her in here without a second thought…

 

god, what decade does she live in? this isn’t the sixties, being gay isn’t seen as a fucking sin anymore, and she’s not even gay. it’s not her fault, none of this is her fault, her attraction to women is who she _is,_ and now she’s being punished for it, none of this is fucking fair…

 

how could her mother and father do this to her?

 

she curls up onto her side on top of the bed, her body immediately rejecting the less than comfortable mattress beneath her body that’s so thin, she can feel the metal of the bedframe under it. 

 

this isn’t what she’s used to. cheryl’s used to a king sized bed with egyptian cotton sheets, but if she can’t get through something as small as this, she’ll never survive in here. 

 

she has to be strong, she has to be strong or else they’ll rip her apart-

 

“so, new girl…what’s your name?” 

 

cheryl screams, unable to stop herself from doing so as she jumps up from the bed and looks around wildly, her heart pounding against her chest, and she’s gone mad already, lost it completely, she’s not strong at all, she’s hearing voices now, she’s already done for-

 

“you’re not going crazy. i’m your next door neighbor. down underneath your bed. see the grate?” the voice echoes out, and it doesn’t really hit cheryl that it’s a girl’s voice until she takes a few moments to calm her racing heart. she manages to catch her breath, and she looks down at the floor beneath her feet with contempt.

 

“you want me to lay on this grime covered floor?” she says in disgust, and the disembodied voice chuckles.

 

“get used to the floor, kid, it’s gonna be your new home when they kick the crap out of you.” 

 

cheryl’s heart drops.

 

“what?” she squeaks.

 

“just get down here!” cheryl hesitates, licking her lips as she crouches down until she’s eye level with the bed.

 

“i…” she trails off, and the voice sighs loudly.

 

“fine, suit yourself, but trust me, you’re gonna want friends in here. they’re the only thing that’s gonna help you through all this shit.” 

 

friends?

 

cheryl drops down to the ground, her chest touching the cold ground and causing a shiver to go up her spine as she crawls underneath the bed, her eyes landing on the grate just at the left corner of the bed. she inches closer to it, arms pulling her forward and squeaking slightly on the ground as she comes to a stop in front of it.

 

she peers through it with narrowed eyes, trying to see past the iron pattern of the grate, and when her eyes finally focus, she sees dark brown eyes staring back at her with a grin.

 

“there you are!” cheryl frowns at her, holds back a sneeze as the dust from the grate hits her nose, and she wrinkles it as the girl behind the grate on the opposite side chuckles.

 

“yeah, i don’t think they clean these grates, like at all.” she says, and cheryl observes her for a few moments before she’s asking the only question on her mind.

 

“who are you?” cheryl whispers. the girl smiles, pearly white teeth showing, and cheryl can see her raven hair falling around her heart shaped face, which looks kind, but also exhausted, the bags under her eyes clear to see even through two meters of twisted iron.

 

“could ask you the same thing, red. i’m veronica. veronica lodge.” 

 

cheryl gasps in surprise.

 

she knows that name. she knows this girl.

 

“veronica lodge? as in the-.”

 

“daughter of hiram and hermione lodge? yeah, that’s me. in all my glory.” she deadpans, and cheryl can’t help but stare at her in shock.

 

hiram and hermione lodge were famous in new york, owners of the famous lodge industries that specialized in housing estates and tourist attractions across new york. they were richer than cheryl’s parents, something her father had often said with annoyance that cheryl had rolled her eyes at because of course her father wanted to be number one at everything, the pompous ass.

 

but if the lodges are so loaded, what the hell was their daughter doing here?

 

cheryl chastises herself for being such an idiot because the same fucking thing can be said for why she’s here, and she looks at veronica with worry.

 

because if veronica’s famous parents have somehow managed to throw her in here without anyone knowing, then she _really_ has no fucking hope of ever getting out.

 

no one’s going to ask about her like they would veronica. no one’s going to come looking for her…

 

“i…you-.”

 

“shouldn’t be here? yeah, i’ve been saying that every day for the last four months.” veronica says coldly, a bite to her tone that has cheryl wincing slightly.

 

cheryl feels a memory tug at the back of her head, a memory of her mother scoffing and looking down at the front page of the register, the local newspaper of riverdale, as she commented that the lodges had “lost control” of their daughter, and cheryl’s eyes had landed on the front page to see a picture of the very girl laying opposite her behind the grate with the words “SHAME: VERONICA LODGE ADMITTED TO REHAB” plastered across the headline. 

 

that’s clearly a lie. this place isn’t rehab…

 

“they said you were in rehab. your mother and father.” cheryl whispers, and veronica’s expression turns cold as she processes cheryl’s words before she scoffs and shakes her head.

 

“rehab, huh? yeah, figures they’d rather say i have a problem with alcohol and drugs than talk about the fact that they caught me fucking a girl.” veronica says bluntly, and cheryl feels like she can’t breathe.

 

she’s in here for the same reason cheryl is, oh god, she’s so fucked-

 

she inhales deeply through her nose, regrets it immediately when dust flies up it and she sneezes violently, and somehow, her sneeze triggers a sob, and once she starts, she can’t stop. she turns onto her back, looking up at the top of her bed to see rust and metal staring back at her as she hears veronica sigh beside her. 

 

“hey! hey, i’m here, okay? look, i don’t know how loose your grate is, but the girl who was in that room before you managed to open it, so you can, too. just pull it loose!” cheryl turns her head to look at her, and she sees veronica curl her fingers over her grate and pull it open with a low grunt.

 

“w-why?” cheryl chokes out, and veronica gazes at her.

 

“so i can hold your hand.” she says softly. cheryl swallows loudly, closes her eyes and lets her tears fall-

 

“come on, open the grate. you can’t get through this without human connection, trust me, i’ve tried. it didn’t end well.” 

 

and cheryl tries to hold off, because she barely knows this girl, only knows what the papers have told her about her erratic behavior and party animal ways, but if they can lie about her being in rehab, they can lie about everything else, and right now, she needs _something-_

 

she curls her fingers through the grate and tugs, grunting from the effort as it squeaks before it finally comes loose, and she can see veronica’s face more clearly now, her groomed eyebrows shaped to perfection and a smile on her chapped lips as she extends her hand through the grate, reaching for cheryl.

 

and cheryl puts her hand through, a warmth spreading through her as her fingers brush against veronica’s before veronica interlaces them herself, gripping onto her tightly.

 

“i’m here…” veronica whispers, and cheryl allows herself to cry, to be vulnerable with this complete stranger holding her hand, and veronica says nothing, just grips her hand to let her know she’s still there as cheryl tries her best to calm down.

 

“they just threw me in here…because they caught me kissing a girl…” cheryl sobs, and veronica sighs and gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

 

“i know…it’s wrong, it’s wrong on so many different levels…” she croaks out. cheryl licks her lips, and she turns to face the grate despite the fact that she can no longer see veronica’s face, their hands taking up the small space they’d been using to see each other. 

 

“what is this place?” cheryl asks hoarsely. veronica is silent for a few moments, and cheryl wishes she could see her face right now, see what horrors were contained behind them so she could determine the truth about the place that’s now become her home…

 

“hell. hell on earth. but we’ll get through this together, okay? i promise you, i won’t let you go through this alone.” veronica says softly, and cheryl bites down on her bottom lip as fresh tears fall down her face.

 

she fucked up…

 

“what’s your name?” veronica asks, and cheryl takes a deep breath in before exhaling shakily.

 

“cheryl blossom.” the hold on her hand tightens.

 

“blossom? as in blossom maple farms?” veronica asks, and cheryl nods before she realizes veronica can’t see her.

 

“yeah…” she says simply, and veronica scoffs in anger.

 

“so you’re the heiress to the famous ‘have some syrup with that, ma’am!’ tagline, huh? damn, blossom, looks like you and i have a lot in common…rich, homophobic parents that send their kids off to conversion therapy to keep the family name intact.” veronica says bluntly, and cheryl lets her tears fall down the sides of her face and into her signature red hair as silence takes them over, but veronica’s hold on her hand stays strong.

 

and cheryl can’t help but feel safe in veronica’s hold.

 

maybe all hope isn’t lost just yet…

 

“you said you’ve been here for four months?” cheryl says after a while, and veronica sighs.

 

“yeah.”

 

“have…have they fixed you?” cheryl whispers, and veronica suddenly tugs cheryl closer, cheryl gasping slightly as she’s pulled closer to the grate.

 

“you tell me.” veronica says softly, and she feels veronica tug on her wrist until she’s touching what feels like her forearm, fingers skating over smooth skin before there’s a bump, and another bump, and another-

 

cheryl tugs her hand back with a gasp, looking through the grate at veronica, who looks…tired.

 

so, so, so tired…

 

“they forgot the screws on the knobs of the dressers.” veronica says weakly, and cheryl swallows the bile that rises in the back of her throat.

 

she tried to kill herself…veronica lodge, heiress to all the money in the world, a girl who everyone would assume has the perfect life, just like cheryl, tried to kill herself because her parents have thrown her into a fucking hellhole simply for having sex with another girl. 

 

what have they done to her? cheryl has seen veronica on tv before, she’s always exuded confidence and strength, but now? now she’s attempting suicide, her eyes filled with fatigue and exhaustion…

 

“is it that bad?” she whispers, her heart sitting down somewhere in her stomach as veronica licks her lips, tears shining in her eyes.

 

“i’m not gonna sugarcoat it for you, cheryl. the only thing getting me through is the other girls here. that’s why i told you to open the grate so i could hold your hand. i…i don’t want you to feel like you’re alone.” 

 

_alone…_

 

cheryl’s been alone her whole life. no friends, parents that abused her and a brother that packed up and left her without a second glance. all she’s ever know is loneliness, and yet here is this girl…this girl she doesn’t even know, _promising_ her that she won’t let her feel alone in this place, this place that seems like the most loneliness place of all. 

 

a friend. that’s what veronica is trying to be. she’s never had any real friends.

 

it’s _different._

 

veronica doesn’t want to be her friend because she’s popular, or because she wants clout, or her money, or fame, or whatever else comes with being associated with cheryl blossom.

 

veronica wants to be her friend because veronica _cares._

 

cheryl reaches back through the grate, veronica doing the same as they interlace hands once more, and there’s something different in their hold now, a certain camaraderie that tells her veronica knows her pain, knows her struggle, because she’s been through it before.

 

god, what has cheryl gotten herself into?

 

“i don’t know if i’m gonna survive this place.” cheryl whispers. veronica chuckles without humor.

 

“neither do i. but i’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.” 

 

cheryl smiles, gives veronica’s hand a squeeze before the sound of keys at her door has cheryl pulling away from veronica with a gasp, and she can see the shadow of a body outside her door underneath the small open space between it and the ground.

 

“don’t worry about the grate, just get on top of the bed!” veronica hisses, and cheryl follows her advice, slides out from under the bed and jumps on top of it as the door opens and sister woodhouse walks in.

 

“lunch time, cheryl. come along.” she says stiffly, and cheryl’s heart is still pounding in her ears as she stands, smoothing out her dress of dust and grime as sister woodhouse turns her back, and cheryl follows her out to see other nuns rushing around to other doors to open them.

 

sister woodhouse opens the door to the right of her, and cheryl’s heart drops. that’s the door veronica’s behind… 

 

cheryl stares at the door anxiously, takes tentative steps forward as it opens and sister woodhouse looks at veronica sternly.

 

“veronica. are you feeling any better?” she asks without any real care, and cheryl hears veronica chuckle.

 

“i feel like i’m in disneyworld, sister woodhouse.” she says sarcastically, and sister woodhouse rolls her eyes, but moves to the next door. cheryl twists her fingers nervously as she hears veronica shuffle toward the door, and she peeks around the corner as cheryl lets out a small gasp. 

 

her raven hair, which cheryl had seen in pictures, straightened to perfection and practically shining in the sunlight, hangs loosely on her shoulders in messy curls, her shoulders slumped as cheryl looks at her face.

 

her incredibly gaunt face, with sunken eyes and dark circles resting around them, and cheryl bites down on her lip to stop herself from crying.

 

they’ve destroyed her…

 

but veronica smiles at her, contradicting her thoughts as she turns to see if sister woodhouse is watching before she surges forward and wraps her arms around cheryl in a warm embrace.

 

cheryl sobs into her shoulder, gripping onto her red cardigan that’s a carbon copy of her own as veronica rubs her back, and cheryl almost wants to melt her in embrace, to have this connection with _somebody_ but the hug is brief as veronica inhales sharply and pulls away, looking around to see if anyone saw them before she visibly relaxes. 

 

“good, no one saw.” 

 

“what, hugging isn’t even allowed?” cheryl asks in despair, and veronica sighs.

 

“not between two girls, it isn’t. i told you this place is hell on earth, but…it’s nice to meet you, cheryl blossom.” veronica says with a warm smile, and cheryl returns it with a somewhat trembling bottom lip. 

 

“it’s nice to meet you, too.” she sniffs, wiping her tears away, and veronica exhales deeply and nods her head toward the hallway to their left. 

 

“come on, i’ll take you to the cafeteria to meet the other girls.” 

 

cheryl follows behind veronica meekly, looking around as more people begin to exit their rooms as they join the crowd heading toward the cafeteria like sheep being herded to the slaughter.

 

it slowly dawns on cheryl that there’s boys wearing a uniform similar to theirs also amongst the crowd, except instead of a blue dress, it’s blue pants and a white shirt with a red jumper on every single one of them. 

 

“i didn’t realize there’d be boys…” she whispers, and veronica smiles.

 

“you don’t think boys can be gay?” she asks with a raised eyebrow, and cheryl feels her cheeks turn bright red as veronica leads her through two double doors into a gigantic room that looks almost exactly like the cafeteria at riverdale high, except it’s a lot less colorful and filled with everyone who looks exactly the same.

 

like clones…

 

there’s still the same depressing aura, though. at least that’s something familiar…

 

“come on, betty’s probably waiting for us.” veronica says softly, and before cheryl can question who betty is, she takes cheryl’s hand for a brief moment to lead her away from the crowd toward the table in the far back of the cafeteria. cheryl’s eyes catch the scabbed over marks on her forearm, still slightly red and inflamed, and it dawns on cheryl that the wounds must still be slightly fresh.

 

this was recent…

 

she comes to a stop, her heart pounding and her head hurting as she stares at veronica's back in despair. this girl had everything in life she could ever want, and simply because she tried to live her truth...this is her life now. cutting herself, _hurting herself_ because she feels like there's no way out...god, what hellhole has she entered, what has she done, what has her fucking mother done-

 

veronica drops her hand and turns to face her in confusion before she notices where cheryl’s gaze is, and she hitches her cardigan down to cover the marks with a flush of red cheeks, whether from embarrassment or shame, cheryl isn’t sure. 

 

“i-i’m sorry…” cheryl whispers, tearing her gaze up to veronica’s face as she smiles sadly and shakes her head. 

 

“no stress, red. come on…” veronica waves her forward, the moment forgotten quickly as cheryl follows her to the table in the far back of the cafeteria where a girl with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail is seated, her green eyes looking up at veronica’s approach, and the smile that lights up this girl’s face when she sees veronica has cheryl smiling before she can stop herself.

 

it’s a look she’s never seen before, but a look she’s dreamt of receiving. 

 

a look of pure, unadulterated love.

 

cheryl's seen this look before...jason had dated a girl in high school named midge, a girl he had fallen head over heels in love with. cheryl remembers those days that midge would come over, full of happiness and so sickly in love with her brother that cheryl would often find herself fake gagging at the sight of them together, but she was a sweet girl. a nice girl...until she cheated on jason with moose mason, another member of the football team, and jason's heart had been broken clean in two. he hadn't moved on since then, and less than six months after midge's affair had been exposed, jason had moved to london to study, desperate to get as far away from riverdale as possible...

 

but there's no denying that he had _loved_ midge, and ever since cheryl had first clapped eyes onto his expression when he looked at her, she's wanted that for herself...a man or woman to look at her with so much love and adoration...

 

“cheryl…this is betty cooper.” veronica says softly, looking down at betty with the same goddamn look taking over her face, and betty smiles up at her and stands up, extending her hand as she does.

 

“it’s nice to meet you, cheryl.” she says, her voice kind and soft, and cheryl simply nods and shakes her hand briefly before sitting down on the cold, metal chairs at the table, veronica taking the one beside betty with a smile at the blonde that has her cheeks turning bright red.

 

it’s obvious that there’s something between them, and cheryl finds herself wondering how the hell that can be possible when they’re both stuck in a literal gay conversion therapy camp. 

 

love conquers all apparently is a very true statement...cheryl can't help but admire them. god, she should be here to get rid of the gay thoughts, to please her mother but right now...seeing these two in front of her, all cheryl wants is to find someone who she can have this kind of love with...

 

“where’s toni?” veronica asks, and betty’s smile fades quickly as she sighs.

 

“she got lippy at sister agnes last night. i heard them beating her for a good twenty minutes and when i tried to check on her, she told me to fuck off.” she says in a low voice, and cheryl feels panic suddenly rise in her chest.

 

someone got beat last night? what does that mean?

 

“wait, who’s toni? they…they beat her, what does that mean? how badly?” cheryl asks desperately, wanting to get as much information as possible, and veronica shakes her head to stop her from panicking.

 

“shh, it’s okay. toni’s a troublemaker, alright? i think she gets off on stirring the pot and pissing off the nuns, so just do the opposite of that and you won’t be on the receiving end of an ass kicking, okay? keep your head down and they won’t bother you.” veronica says in a rushed voice, and cheryl purses her lips, tears welling in her eyes before she can stop them.

 

so now she has to live in fear to speak, to do anything that could earn her a beat down...it's not much different to how she already lives her life in thornhill, the decrepit manor a constant reminder of her pain and suffering at the hands of penelope and clifford, but to go from one hellhole to another...what did she ever do to deserve this? granted, she wasn't the perfect person, and she had a bit of a mean streak, but she's never fucking murdered anyone, or lifted a finger against another human...what warranted all this pain and suffering she was going through? 

 

_maybe god does hate me...maybe he's angry at me for even living, and this is his punishment against me...a life of torment and pain..._

 

betty looks at her sympathetically. 

 

“i know this is a lot to process, cheryl, but i promise you, we’ll all get through this together. it’s like veronica said, just keep your head down and they won’t bother you.” 

 

cheryl nods at the blonde solemnly, because there isn’t much else she can do. she either conforms or they hurt her. 

 

this is all so, so wrong…

 

“she’s my roommate, b. i’ll keep an eye on her, keep her spirits up.” veronica says softly, and betty smiles at the raven haired girl lovingly before quickly glancing around, cheryl doing the same. there’s no nuns around, they must still be rushing around to open the doors, and betty decides to take advantage of it as she leans in and presses a quick, chaste kiss to veronica’s lips, pulling back with tears her in eyes as she touches veronica’s cheek lightly.

 

“keep your own spirits up, v. i already lost you once, i’m not going through that again.” she whispers brokenly. cheryl finds her eyes falling down to the exposed scratches on veronica's wrist.

 

so despite their whirlwind romance, veronica had attempted to kill herself regardless. something must have happened to cause veronica to break down, and cheryl finds herself wondering what exactly broke the raven haired girl before her, but she decides it's a conversation for another day, instead choosing to lean in and grip betty’s hand resting on the table to reassure her that veronica was no longer alone.

 

“i’ll…i’ll make sure she’s okay.” she says hoarsely.

 

she may not know veronica well, but cheryl feels a protectiveness for the girl overtake her. veronica had been so quick to be there for her, it's only fair cheryl does the same.

 

because everyone in riverdale was so sure, so _positive_ that cheryl was some loveless monster, when the truth is, cheryl has spent her whole life trying to be the complete opposite of penelope blossom. 

 

cheryl cares about people, despite what everyone else believes, and even though she had tried her best to keep up the bitchy persona, she'd showed her soft side often...it's just a shame that most times she did, no one was fucking looking...

 

betty’s bottom lip trembles as veronica hangs her head in shame beside her. 

 

“thank you.” she whispers. cheryl nods, but pulls her hand away at the sound of the doors opening as the nuns file in with some of the male orderlies right behind them, all of them glaring at the young boys and girls before them in disgust. 

 

“alright, one table at a time, approach the line!” one of the sisters yells, and the table closest to the cafeteria stands and makes their way to the line, grabbing trays on the table at the entrance to the cafeteria as they do. 

 

it all looks so robotic, the way everyone moves through the cafeteria at a slow pace, each step filled with despair and sadness, and cheryl rubs her eyes, bloodshot and sore from all the crying as veronica looks around with a frown.

 

“you don’t think they’re gonna ban toni from the cafeteria, do you? she needs to eat.” veronica says worriedly, and betty bites her lip in hesitation before she shakes her head.

 

“she wasn’t at breakfast, they can’t keep her from lunch, too.” she says, joining veronica in her search for this toni girl, and cheryl doesn’t even know who she’s looking for, but she’s looking around as well, worry gripping her tightly over this girl she doesn’t even know.

 

they couldn’t possibly stop her from having food altogether, could they? 

 

what if she was so badly beaten, she can't even walk, unable to get to the cafeteria as she withers away slowly, starving and bruised?

 

a gasp beside her from betty and veronica has her looking at them in surprise before she follows their gaze.

 

and the sight before her has her whole body frozen in shock in her chair, complete and utter awe sweeping her off her feet as she swallows the lump that rises in her throat. 

 

pink hair that’s almost completely faded, only some of it still vibrant against light brown strands that are pulled into two high pigtails that fall over small shoulders, smooth chocolate brown skin that’s covered by the same uniform hiding cheryl’s body from view, and the girl looks small, her body curled in on itself as cheryl’s eyes move up to the girl’s face.

 

full, pink lips that cheryl can tell are chapped even from here, pulled down in a frown of pain as her eyes crinkle in a wince, and cheryl gazes at the girl’s chocolate brown eyes for a few moments before she begins to take in other things.

 

the bruise around the girl’s lip, blue and red marking the ebony skin of her chin as well, the scratches at her temple that still look bloody, the cut above her left eyebrow that only has two small strips covering it…

 

the injuries don’t look too bad, but it’s when the girl starts making her way toward them that cheryl realizes her real injuries are covered by the clothes she’s wearing.

 

she’s limping, her teeth clutching her bottom lip in pain with each step as she struggles to even make it a few steps before she’s clutching one of the poles in the room for support, and veronica jumps up from her chair and rushes over to her, betty making a noise of protest as cheryl’s eyes fall on the girl’s exposed legs. 

 

they’re covered in bruises, a mixture of blue and black and red, and cheryl looks up into chocolate brown eyes to see this girl staring at her in confusion as veronica finally reaches her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. 

 

“come on, toni…” veronica murmurs, and toni’s eyes haven’t left cheryl’s as she allows veronica to help her move toward the table, veronica quickly checking to make sure they aren’t being watched. cheryl's heart drops when she sees sister agnes glaring at veronica and toni, but she says nothing, simply watches with a steel gaze as veronica grabs the chair beside cheryl and pulls it out. she helps toni sit in it slowly, toni gasping in pain as tears well in her eyes.

 

"fuck..." toni whimpers softly, and cheryl feels a tingle run up her spine at the girl's voice. it's rough, husky, almost like it's suffered from years of abuse, perhaps tobacco or something a little stronger, and she curls her fingers into a fist, nails digging into her palm as she resists the urge to reach out and touch this girl. she knows sister agnes is still watching them suspiciously, can feel her eyes burning holes in the back of cheryl's head, and she settles back into her chair with her teeth clutching her bottom lip. 

 

she has to resist the urge, she's not going to do anything to piss the sisters off, she doesn't want to be on the receiving end of a beating like this...she's here to get better...

 

_oh, get better from what? there's nothing fucking wrong with you! touch her!_

 

her hand twitches, but betty speaks up, causing her to flinch slightly as she relaxes back into her chair.

 

“god, toni, if you’re not careful, i’m gonna be getting a new next door neighbor, and i was just starting to warm up to you.” betty says with a small smile, and toni looks up at her-

 

and grins widely. and the sight has cheryl blossom's heart fucking _pounding_ against her chest wildly.

 

“i’m not going anywhere, cooper. not now that i’ve laid eyes on you…” toni turns to face cheryl now, her grin only widening as cheryl feels the heat rise in her cheeks almost automatically.

 

what the hell was she doing? this girl is insane. she's literally flirting with cheryl while they're sitting in a cafeteria filled with nuns hellbent on expelling 'gay thoughts' from their minds. 

 

absolutely insane.

 

cheryl already can't get enough of her.

 

_stop it cheryl, stop-_

 

“what’s your name, gorgeous?” toni breathes, leaning in closer to her with a wince, and cheryl licks her lips with hesitation before clears her throat and answers.

 

“cheryl blossom.” she whispers, and toni smiles and extends her hand for cheryl to take. cheryl stares at it for a long time, but toni is surprisingly patient, her smile causing her dimples to cut into her cheeks, and it’s then that cheryl realizes her eye is black as well, slightly puffy and bruised as cheryl inhales and finally curls her hand around toni's softly.

 

“toni topaz.” she says with that rough voice, and cheryl can’t help but smile. toni’s fingers are warm against her own, her hold soft as she stops shaking her hand but leaves them interlaced, her eyes never leaving cheryl’s face as cheryl drinks in every inch of toni’s. 

 

she’s… _beautiful._ cheryl's never seen anything like her in seventeen years of life, and cheryl's pretty sure she won't see anything like her again so long as she lives. despite the bruises, despite the cuts...she's the most remarkable thing cheryl's ever laid eyes on. an absolute _masterpiece..._

 

this is dangerous, this is really dangerous, cheryl knows that, but this girl is beautiful and she can't stop _staring-_

 

“hey, quit the hand holding before sister woodhouse sees.” veronica warns, her voice snapping cheryl out of her fascination with toni's face, and she yanks her hand out of the pink haired girl's hold anxiously, glancing around to make sure no one saw them. the nuns are all preoccupied, their eyes trained on the kids at the cafeteria line, and toni rolls her eyes as she turns to look at veronica with a sigh.

 

“there’s not much else she can do to me that she hasn’t already.” she grunts, and veronica frowns.

 

“are you okay?” she asks with worry lacing every inch of her tone, and toni shrugs.

 

“nothing i haven’t been through before. i can't breathe properly though, think they might've broken a rib...” she winces as she adjusts herself in her seat, a hand cradling her side protectively and cheryl feels the fight leave her as she takes in just how battered and broken toni is. she's small, probably barely even five foot two, how...how could they beat on someone who looked like she could barely defend herself?

 

this place is hell on earth, and she's put herself right in the middle of it, god, what the fuck did she do...signing up to this place, why, why would she do that-

 

_you're an idiot, cheryl, a complete and utter fool-_

 

“what did you do to piss her off this time?” veronica asks with a sigh, and toni clenches her jaw in anger.

 

“sister agnes got annoyed at me for not participating in movie night, and i told her i had a headache and to fuck off and she decided to give me a bigger headache. beavis and butthead over there kicked my ass.” toni says, nodding at the two male orderlies beside sister agnes at the cafeteria line, and cheryl looks at toni in shock.

 

wait, it wasn't the sisters that did this?

 

“they’re…they’re full grown men.” she breathes.

 

two full grown men, pounding on this five foot tall girl? this is bad, this is really bad…

 

she needs to get the fuck out of here. toni was small, a small girl, and they beat her mercilessly like this- 

 

no, no, she'll be okay, she just needs to keep her head down, like veronica said...

 

toni purses her lips, her eyes taking in cheryl’s face once more before she suddenly clenches her jaw in anger.

 

“did they hurt you? your cheek and your lip…” toni says, reaching out to touch her face, but cheryl flinches away from her touch immediately, not wanting the sisters to see lest she get her own ass kicked. toni looks hurt by the gesture, but understanding flashes in her sad eyes as cheryl clears her throat and shakes her head.

 

“no, that was my mother.” she says simply, painful memories of her beating last night flooding her mind. 

 

_"i will not let you ruin this family's reputation with that...that disgusting, vile behavior, you foul child!_

 

what if none of this was done to help cheryl get better? what if the only reason she threw cheryl in here was for the same reason the lodges threw veronica in here? to hide the shame and disgust of having a daughter who liked girls? did her mother...god, did her mother even love her?

 

veronica scoffs as toni looks cheryl up and down before nodding at her.

 

“what’s her address? i wanna talk to her when i get out of here.” she growls, and cheryl bites back a smile and shakes her head.

 

“it’s fine.” toni clicks her tongue, but says nothing as veronica grins at her.

 

“you’re a riot, toni topaz.” she says with a chuckle, and betty looks at her disapprovingly before she looks at toni with worry.

 

“don't encourage her, ronnie. you need to calm down with the violence and the back chat, toni, you’re gonna get yourself killed in here-.”

 

“i was gonna get myself killed out there, too, cooper. that southside serpent jacket i wore didn't exactly keep me safe. either way, i’m a dead woman walking.” toni says with an easy grin and veronica sighs as cheryl looks at toni in surprise. 

 

“wait, you’re a southside serpent?” she breathes.

 

the southside serpents were a gang of drug dealers and criminals in riverdale that cheryl had never even so much as _thought_ about before. the southside was considered dangerous and disgusting, and those two words didn’t exist in cheryl’s vocabulary, so therefore, neither did the serpents. penelope blossom had pretty much forbade jason and cheryl from going to that side of town anyway, always calling it 'the slums' and unworthy of their time... 

 

toni simply shrugs.

 

“yeah, but seeing as i’ve been stuck here for about seven weeks now with no southside serpent in sight to rescue me, i think it’s safe to assume uncle jake has convinced them i’m dead or something...wait, how do you know about the southside serpents? when i told these two, they had no idea what i was talking about.” toni says, looking at cheryl with a raised eyebrow, and she hesitates before she licks her lips and clears her throat.

 

"i'm from riverdale...the northside." she says in a small voice, and toni's eyes widen before she scoffs and shakes her head. 

 

"blossom...yeah i knew that name sounded familiar." she says simply, and veronica looks between them both with a smirk.

 

"you two know each other?" she asks. toni chuckles.

 

"nah, v. we're from two completely different sides of the tracks. she's the elite, the top one percent of the one percent of riverdale, and i'm...the scum. well, as far as the northsiders are concerned...i'm less the scum, more the girl trapped with the scum who threw her in here." she growls, that steely look of anger returning, and veronica shakes her head in disgust.

 

“your uncle’s an asshole.” toni scoffs.

 

“you can say that again.” 

 

“your uncle threw you in here? cheryl whispers. she finds herself wanting to learn more, despite everything in her telling her that she should be steering clear of a southside serpent, and toni turns to look at her, her expression softening as she exhales deeply. 

 

“yeah. i’m guessing your parents did the same?” she asks softly, and cheryl swallows the lump in her throat as she drops her gaze and nods slowly in response.

 

"guess despite our differences, we're both the same, huh?" toni says with a mournful sigh, and cheryl blinks back tears as betty suddenly reaches out and grips her hand.

 

“we’re all in here because of family, cheryl. but just because they share your blood, doesn’t mean they’re _family._ sometimes, choosing your family is better than accepting the one you were given.” betty says softly, and cheryl looks up at her, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as tears well in her eyes. 

 

she’s right…

 

cheryl’s never been a family oriented person. how could she be when her mother treated her the way she does, abusing her verbally and physically, wearing her down every chance she got until cheryl was just a shell of a person, too tired and too beat down to fight her mother’s words against her. how could she be when her father never gave a crap about her, never cared enough to tell penelope blossom not to raise her hand, not to strike his daughter, simply watching from the shadows with a look of disapproval at the scene unfolding before him. how could she when her brother, with a gentle kiss to her brow and a loving smile, had promised her that he’d get her out of riverdale one day only to leave her behind in it?

 

they’re not her family. they’re people she shares blood with and nothing else. she can’t confide in them, can’t tell her mother her fears and doubts without her mother cursing her, without her father neglecting her, without jason abandoning her.

 

she has no one.

 

no one, except for the three people in front of her right now.

 

“i…i’m scared.” cheryl confesses with a trembling bottom lip and tears falling down her face, and she sees betty and veronica look at her in despair as toni throws caution to the wind and grips her hand, not even caring if the nuns see her.

 

“we all are. but we need to stick together, okay, cheryl? we’re gonna get through this.” toni whispers. 

 

and somehow, cheryl manages to reach down deep, to extract the bravery she long thought had left her when she’d stepped foot into the building of the sisters of quiet mercy as she grips toni’s hand in her own.

 

“okay.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait on this one guys, but i hope you enjoy it! trigger warning for mentions of torture and abuse and suicidal thoughts.

six weeks have passed, and cheryl blossom can feel herself beginning to wither away. there is nothing left in her that feels real, that feels like home. she's slowly losing herself, and she's not sure she's ever going to able to gain those parts of herself she loves so much back.

 

because it's been six fucking weeks, and cheryl blossom has had to endure torture of the worst kind, all because she had kissed a girl in the back of her convertible on what was supposed to be the best night of her life.

 

being crowned prom queen seems like such a trivial thing now that cheryl has had to face what life really has instore for her. who cares if she was prom queen? cheryl's pretty sure sister woodhouse was barely even thinking about the tiara that had adorned cheryl's head on prom night when she'd lifted her hand to slap cheryl across the cheek for not reading a verse from the bible during group sessions.

 

no, no...the sisters of quiet mercy are anything but merciful, and cheryl has never encountered a more heinous and hideous place than the one she currently inhabits now. the four walls around her feel like death embracing her, closing in on her every single day that she spends here. she's in hell, there's nothing else to it. perhaps on the night of prom, she had stumbled out of her convertible, lips and neck covered in heather hathaway's pink lipstick, and in a drunken daze of post make out blues, she had stumbled onto the road and gotten hit by a freight truck. ever since then, she's been living in her hell, complete with torture and cutting words of anger and abuse thrown at her every second of every day. 

 

it's not much different from her normal life, living in thornill manor with penelope blossom berating her at every waking opportunity, but now there was _multiple_ penelope blossoms biting harsh words at her and stinging her cheeks with sharp slaps, and cheryl's just not quite sure _how much longer she can do this._

 

the only thing that’s kept her sane is the three other girls she’s befriended. 

 

veronica lodge had quickly become her saving grace, the grate between their two ‘cells’ (because that’s what it feels like, truly…a prison cell) acting as a beacon of hope for her every time she hears veronica’s voice calling to her to crawl under the bed to talk.

 

veronica talks with her all the time, from the moment they're shoved back into their cells to the second the keys are at their doors letting them out, and she only lets cheryl go when she sees her eyes beginning to droop from fatigue at night. cheryl's thankful for it. usually the constant chatter would annoy her, would push her to yell and scream for a reprieve, for a moment of fucking quiet, but in this place, she doesn't want that. she's scared to have a moment to herself, because if she does, she'll surely _break_ in two. 

 

veronica had held cheryl's hand from the grate through her first bout of torture about four days after she'd arrived at the sisters of quiet mercy...a tub filled with ice cold water, cheryl stripped down to nothing but her bra and underwear and thrown under until her lungs were gasping for air, begging for reprieve as the water bit into her skin so _painfully..._

 

cheryl's never really pondered what death would feel like, but it's getting more and more inticing as the days go by...

 

still, she has veronica, who keeps her company and holds her hand through the days that end in 'y'. she says that it helps keep cheryl’s spirits up, that if she doesn’t talk with _someone_ she’ll go mad in here.

 

cheryl already feels like she’s starting to lose her mind, anyway.

 

because despite the fact that veronica talks to her all the time, despite the fact that she sits with betty and toni along with veronica at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, despite the fact that toni promises to punch in the faces of every single one of the nuns who have hurt cheryl, the redhead feels like she’s losing herself.

 

the torture...the goddamn torture. the ice baths and the movie nights (which are just movies that inform them of how bad their sins are, how loving one of the same sex is a one way ticket to hell), and the group sessions and everything...it's too much. it's too much _pain._ her mother hasn't visited, neither has her father, and she's heard nothing from jason...nothing from the world outside these four walls, and cheryl's beginning to lose faith that she'll ever get out. she's well and truly stuck here for the rest of her life, and the thought itself makes her want to curl up into a ball and never wake up. 

 

she's trapped in literal hell with no escape, and god, it kills her, because she's _done nothing wrong._

 

all she did was kiss a pretty girl at prom, all she did was try and feel _something_ on the one night in her life that was supposed to be one of the best days of her life, but all she can truly remember about is the feeling of heather hathaway's skin beneath her fingers, and the taste of her lips, tobacco laced with vodka and a strawberry scented lipstick...and those memories make her heart swell and her lips tingle.

 

this is who she is. and she can't be proud of it stuck in a place like this.

 

the group activities...god, cheryl hates them. it consists of everyone sitting in a circle and reading verses from the bible and ends with sister livingston moving from child to child, praying for god to forsake them and forgive them for their treacherous ways. what hurts cheryl the most, is there's some kids who take sister livingston's words as gospel, grip her hand in their own and pray for forgiveness, and cheryl finds herself blinking back tears, desperate to help them see that there's nothing wrong with who they are...

 

every time sister livingston reaches cheryl, she finds herself thinking more and more of heather and the feeling of her soft lips against her own. because she refuses to conform. despite the fucking pain, the torture, the abuse, she won't lose herself. she won't give in to what her mother wants. she'd rather die. her mother doesn't love her, and it's time cheryl came to terms with that...for what mother threw their daughter into a place like this without a second thought or glance? 

 

then there’s individual therapy, which is nothing but actual human torture.

 

apart from ice baths and movie nights, cheryl had been forced to move gigantic sacks of potatoes from one end of the room to another for the cooks a few days ago, only to be told that she’d put them in the wrong corner and she’d have to drag them once more, and her whole body is _still_ throbbing with pain from the ordeal, her arms and shoulders and back aching from hours of heavy lifting. 

 

when cheryl had told them what she’d been forced to do, veronica had sighed and told her that was one of the simple methods of conversion they had here, that they had a whole fucking arsenal under their belt, that ice baths and moving sacks of potatoes was just the beginning... 

 

“it makes us obedient. makes us _want_ to listen to them out of fear.” veronica had growled. 

 

“how does that stop us from thinking about…” cheryl had trailed off before finishing her sentence, and veronica had looked at her pointedly.

 

“that’s how, blossom.” she had said simply, and cheryl had pretty much curled up in her seat, tears falling before she could stop them. 

 

she couldn't keep doing this. she's not sure how much longer she can hold on...

 

but cheryl…cheryl’s had it easy.

 

she’s had it easy compared to toni topaz.

 

it’s not exactly her fault, it’s all toni’s, really. toni is _mouthy,_ outspoken and determined not to let them win. during cheryl’s first group activity, she’d read a verse from the bible and scoffed, and sister livingston hadn’t even hesitated in standing and slapping her right across the face, toni clutching her cheek and glaring at her in anger before grinning and spitting out blood with a wicked glint in her eyes. 

 

“gonna take more than that pussy slap to make me not like girls, sister livingston.” 

 

toni had spent a whole day without food after that remark, only showing up to breakfast a whole day later with a look of complete starvation in her eyes and new bruises covering almost every inch of her skin. 

 

betty and veronica, for the most part, keep their heads down, do what they’re told and cling to each other for support when no one is looking, but cheryl can see the anger in their eyes as they watch toni show up with fresh bruises every time she does something to goad the sisters into violence. 

 

they care about toni a lot, cheryl concludes. 

 

and slowly, but surely, they’re beginning to care for cheryl in the same way, and cheryl feels like crying with gratitude every time she thinks about it. she's never had people care so much about her before in her life. jason, of course, was an exception, and she's positive if he truly knew what was happening to her right now, he'd storm through those doors and whisk cheryl away from her before demanding the whole place get shut down, but he's in london...a whole world away with only the words of her parents to placate him, and cheryl just _knows_ her mother has fed him some bullshit line about her being at a group home or some therapy camp...

 

and he'd believe her. because cheryl's always been the rebellious child of the two...

 

goddamit, if only she'd been able to get a message out to him before all of this...

 

but right now, all she has is veronica, betty and toni.

 

god, toni...every time cheryl sees toni’s bruised face, she feels like crying.

 

the girl is fucking insane, but she’s so incredibly _brave._ she refuses to apologize for who she is, and cheryl admires that about her so much, wishes she had the same bravery to stick her middle finger to the nuns and tell them she was bisexual and proud of it, but she can’t.

 

she can’t and it breaks her that she can’t. all she can do is fight their words within herself, refuse to conform, but it doesn't feel like _enough._

 

“i don’t know how you do it.” cheryl had whispered to toni one day, and toni had smiled at her, her left eye black and blue as she’d looked around quickly before gripping cheryl’s cold hand in one of her warm ones.

 

“i do it because i know there’s nothing wrong with me, cheryl. because liking girls isn’t a sin, and because if it is, i don’t care. i’ll happily burn in hell for eternity before i hide a part of myself that shouldn’t be hidden.” she had whispered, and cheryl had stared at her in awe for a good two minutes before veronica had warned them that sister agnes was approaching, their hands immediately falling apart as soon as they’d heard it. 

 

but cheryl can't deny that toni is...phenomenal. cheryl's never met anyone like her, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't like the way toni's hand felt in her own...

 

it's so _easy_ with toni...toni doesn't make her feel guilty, doesn't make her feel like she's doing something wrong every time she smiles when toni brushes her hair back from her face or grips her cold hands in her warm ones...

 

toni makes her feel... _alive._ more alive than she's felt in years. toni was the one thing pulling her through every ice bath, every group session, every inch of pain and suffering she endured in this place, and every beating toni takes gets her one step closer to one of those guards losing control, maybe taking it all a step too far... 

 

“cheryl?” she jumps slightly at the sound of her name, her eyes moving away from the small bird outside her window as she turns to look at the grate beneath her bed.

 

“yeah, ronnie?” she calls out, her voice cracking from lack of use, and veronica sighs, causing cheryl to frown before she wipes away her tears and crawls under the bed toward the grate.

 

“are you okay?” cheryl whispers softly, and when she looks at veronica through the grate, she notices her eyes are bloodshot red.

 

she’s been crying.

 

“it’s…not a good day, i think.” veronica says hoarsely, and cheryl's heart breaks at the tone of her voice. this has happened twice now since she's been here, veronica crying and gripping her hand in despair...

 

she won't survive this place for much longer...veronica still hasn't told her what drove her to try and kill herself, and cheryl knows she'll tell her in her own time, but it's not hard to see why...cheryl would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about making those marks on her own wrist...what if it's her only chance to escape from this hell?

 

this can't be happening...cheryl blossom has never had a suicidal thought in her life, she's had it good...but now...god, now...

 

she immediately wraps her fingers around the grate, pulling it open as veronica does the same opposite her.

 

“it’s not a good day for me, either.” cheryl whispers, and veronica smiles sadly as she grips her hand through the grate.

 

they stay this way for a few moments, simply wrapped in each other’s embrace through their fingers, and god, cheryl wishes she could hug her right now, run her fingers through her raven hair and press a kiss to her forehead to reassure her that everything will be okay, but she knows it won't be...

 

she knows it won't be because they're fucking stuck here, like caged animals being experimented on with no hope of a sweet release...

 

“i haven’t even heard from my parents since they shoved me in here…i just don’t understand how they don’t _care,_ cheryl…” veronica whispers with a loud sniff, and cheryl exhales deeply. 

 

“i don’t get it either, ronnie…but we’re stuck here…and all we have is each other.”she says softly. veronica lets out a shaky exhale before she squeezes cheryl’s hand.

 

“promise me you won’t leave, cheryl.” she croaks out, and cheryl closes her eyes and lets her tears fall.

 

can she make a promise like that? she wants nothing more than to leave this place, and more and more, it's looking like the only way that will happen is in a body bag...

 

can she stay strong? for veronica, for betty...for toni? god, betty and veronica were like sisters to her now, and the thought of leaving toni...cheryl can't even fathom it, but it's getting _so fucking hard_ to stay strong when every day she's being told that every breath she takes is damned, full of sin...

 

but she can’t leave them, not now, not ever. they need her just as much as she needs them, the four of them puzzle pieces connecting a picture of happiness and friendship together, and if one piece leaves...

 

“i promise.” she says hoarsely. veronica sighs, and cheryl waits patiently, is content to sit here with her hand in this girl's hand for however long it takes...whatever needs to be done to help veronica feel better, cheryl's willing to do it. because despite her pain, despite her anguish, she needs _someone_ she cares about to be okay...

 

veronica suddenly scratches a nail into cheryl’s wrist lightly, and cheryl returns the favor to let her know she's listening.

 

"can you distract me?" veronica whispers. cheryl smiles.

 

she knows exactly what to do. it's worked twice before, on nights when she'd heard veronica sobbing on the other end of the thin wall that separates them, it'll work now...

 

"talk to me about betty, veronica." she says softly, and immediately, a dreamy sigh escapes the raven haired girl as she chuckles. 

 

"do you ever get sick of me talking about her?" she teases, and cheryl smiles again widely. truthfully, yes...she feels like she's heard more about how beautiful betty cooper is than she'll ever hear about anything in her life, veronica describing the girl in perfect detail as if she was carved from the brush tip of leonardo da vinci himself, but it doesn't matter.

 

"not if it's what it takes to make you happy, ronnie...go on, tell me what you like about her." she says, desperate to hear the happiness in veronica's tone when she talks about the blonde, and veronica sighs again.

 

"i don't like anything about her, cheryl. i _love_ everything about her. her hair, and how soft it feels in my fingers...her lips, and how gentle they are when they're pressed against mine. the way her brow crinkles when she's frowning, and when she smiles, a small dimple forms on the side of her bottom lip..." veronica whispers, her grip on cheryl tightening slightly. cheryl finds herself smiling softly. 

 

god, a love like veronica lodge and betty cooper's...a dream that cheryl didn't even know she had or wanted until she'd met them. veronica had told her the story of how they'd met almost five and a half months ago in this hellhole, betty getting her through her first few weeks here with a smile every time despite the fact that she herself has only been here for two weeks at the time, and veronica told her she wasn't even sure when she fell in love with betty cooper...only that it happened suddenly, and all at once.

 

"ugh, the way she talks, so passionately, but so gently, each word she utters drips like honey, cheryl. her fingers, and how warm they are compared to mine. the way she squeezes my hand, like the world around us doesn't exist and we're the only two left, this whole gigantic world only for us...you know, when she cries, her eyes turn red, and she gets this cute little pout that forms on her mouth when her bottom lip trembles...i hate seeing her cry but i love it at the same time...god, i love betty cooper, cheryl. we've only been here for about six months now, but i feel like we've known each other for a lifetime." veronica concludes with a choked out whisper, and cheryl bites down on her bottom lip and blinks back tears as she squeezes veronica's hand affectionately. 

 

god, how she wishes she had someone to love like that...but the truth is, cheryl's never had someone to love. her life has been nothing but hatred and despair...

 

"you know what you and betty have? i dream of having that some day..." she whispers, and veronica squeezes her hand back, as if trying to reassure her that she will have that one day...it's silent for a few moments before she clears her throat.

 

"i've seen the way you look at toni...and the way she looks at you." she says, her tone slightly teasing, and cheryl feels her cheeks turning red as she bites back a smile. 

 

toni topaz...what was cheryl going to do with that girl? she was...dangerous. outside of these walls and inside. cheryl still didn't know much about toni's days as a southside serpent, only knew that the girl was one, but she knew some things about the pink haired girl. her parents had apparently died when she was young, leaving her in the care of her grandfather, and when he got too old to care for her, she'd been placed under her uncle's 'care', the word used loosely. toni had spent a lot of her teenage years struggling to survive under his constant abuse, and it didn't help that she'd been shipped from one abusive household to another...

 

god, they were so alike, it was almost _painful._ but one thing toni had that cheryl didn't was bravery. because god...the girl was flirtatious. even in front of the nuns, without a care in the world, toni would turn her charm on the second she saw cheryl approaching, and toni's not shy about it at all, giving cheryl a wink and commenting on her beauty every single meal of every single day that cheryl sees her. cheryl has tried so goddamn hard to ignore the way her heart pounds against her chest every time toni tells her something to set her off, but god, she can't fucking help it. the girl's got her locked in those eyes...

 

she's noticed toni's gaze on her, and cheryl hasn't been hiding her own gaze, either. because god, toni topaz is a fucking enigma, and cheryl's falling deeper and deeper into her every day that she sees her...

 

"toni's...amazing, ronnie." she breathes. 

 

"oh yeah? what do you _like_ about her?" veronica asks with that same teasing tone, and cheryl closes her eyes, pictures pink hair and beautiful brown eyes in her mind...

 

"i like how crazy she is. how abrasive and _brave_ she is, ronnie. fighting against everything the nuns tell her...she's not afraid or embarassed or terrified of who she is, she owns it with pride, and god, i wish i could be like her. she gives me the strength to be proud of who i am, to love who i love with no shame, no malice or anger...i like how she smiles, with her whole face instead of just her mouth...i like the way her eyes light up when she's talking about something she's passionate about...i like how she fights for everyone in this place, not just her friends...i like her dimples. they're cute." cheryl finishes rather lamely, unable to keep going without tears welling in her eyes, and veronica laughs loudly as cheryl squeezes her hand before shaking her head. 

 

is it even possible, to already miss someone even though you saw them less than half an hour ago? she only contemplates it for half a second before she realizes veronica is clutching her so hard because she misses betty, and maybe it is possible to care about someone so much that you craved their company twenty four seven...

 

"she's crazy...i don't know how she has the guts to keep sticking up to the nuns and getting her ass beat every time..." veronica murmurs. cheryl sighs. 

 

maybe...maybe once upon a time, cheryl would've been like toni. ready to fight for herself and her friends, ready to tell the nuns to take their bibles and stick them where the sun didn't shine, be proud of her bisexuality and wave her flag up high with no regrets, but god, cheryl lost all her fight the second she stepped foot into this place, and she has no idea how toni has kept hers. maybe being a southside serpent did wonders for her bravery...

 

"i never was timid before i came here. fuck, i ruled riverdale high school...those hallways were _mine._ i used to tear people apart limb from limb with my words, i used to _be_ somebody, veronica..." cheryl trails off, swallowing thickly as veronica squeezes her hand to reassure her that she's listening.

 

"but being here, it's destroyed so much of me. my personality, my _fire_...i just...i feel like there's no way i could ever be with someone outside of these walls ever again, ronnie. i'll never be able to get rid of the sound of sister livingston barking into my ear that i'm going to hell for thinking of another girl in that way..." cheryl blinks back her tears, and when the image of pink hair and bright brown eyes flash before her own, she licks her lips, the salty taste of her tears sticking to her tongue as she desperately tries not to think of how much she _likes_ toni...how much she wishes they had met on the outside, despite their differences, despite the stupid war between the northside and southside...

 

god, what if they had met earlier? would they have even made it? or was the shared pain they were experiencing now making them more privvy to something more than just friendship? cheryl doesn't know, has no idea what to do or think or feel anymore...all she knows is toni is the only thing keeping her going, southside serpent or not, and god, cheryl needs her, wants her, _craves her-_

 

“we need to get out of here.” veronica says suddenly. cheryl blinks.

 

what…what is she talking about?

 

"it's bedtime, we're stuck in our rooms, veronica-."

 

"no, i mean get out of this place. permanently." veronica says, her voice shaking slightly. cheryl's heart stops.

 

what? what is she talking about, that's insane! they can barely step outside their rooms, how were they supposed to get out of here?

 

“how? how can we possibly do that, veronica?” cheryl whispers breathlessly, her heart beginning to pound against her chest loudly, and veronica’s grip on her hand tightens.

 

“there’s gotta be some way we can escape! you, me, betty and toni! we can get out of here, we’ve just gotta come up with a way…” 

 

she’s crazy, they can’t possibly…it's her delirium talking, her panic and her need to get out of this place, cheryl understands, but she shouldn't play around with something like this, it was painful to even think about the possibility, the _longing_ cheryl had to get the fuck out of here-

 

“veronica, h-how? the sisters are breathing down our neck almost every second we’re not in these goddamn rooms, and you see what they do to toni just for speaking out! imagine what they’d do to us if we tried to escape!” cheryl exclaims in a low whisper, and god, _god_ the thought is appealing, but it's impossible, completely and utterly impossible-

 

“we can’t live like this, cheryl! every goddamn move we make being monitored and watched, the torture, the _fucking torture_ we suffer just because of who we are, it's...it's inhumane! we won't survive for much longer, and i can't lose you guys, i...we have to get out of here! there has to be a way!” veronica says desperately, and her nails are fucking _digging_ into cheryl's wrist at this point, but cheryl stays quiet, mulling over her words in her distressed mind in wonder.

 

getting out of here, god it's a dream...a dream that cheryl can't even begin to fathom into reality because it's too _risky..._

 

but veronica isn't going to survive long in here, god, she's already tried to kill herself, and frankly, neither is cheryl. thoughts she's never had before are taking her over, and it's scaring her...she can't stay here. none of them can. and if veronica falls, then betty will fall with her, and toni's beatings are getting worse and worse, it isn't long until they find her, bloody and beaten to death by one of the nuns's lackeys who took it just one step too far...

 

the image of toni, dead and covered in blood after being beaten to a pulp flashes before her eyes, and cheryl feels bile rise in the back of her throat as her eyes snap open and she looks at the grate desperately.

 

they need to get out of here. they fucking _need to get out of here-_

 

“we’d…we’d need a distraction...” cheryl breathes, and veronica gasps in shock, perhaps surprised that cheryl is even entertaining the idea of escaping as she tightens her grip on cheryl’s hand.

 

"cheryl, would you do it? if...if we come up with a plan, would you help me?" she whispers. cheryl hesitates.

 

she should say no. she should. she said she was going to keep her head down, give the nuns no reason to hurt her like they hurt toni, but god... _god_ it's so fucking appealing, the idea of getting out of here...and toni, god, toni needs to get out of here more than any of them, her attitude wasn't going to survive this place much longer, and if she died...if she _died..._

 

"i'm getting toni out of here, veronica. she won't survive another beating, and you and betty...you both deserve to live happy lives, god, you both deserve to be able to touch each other without looking over your shoulders..." cheryl says hoarsely. veronica chokes on a sob, her grip on cheryl's hand tightening before she exhales shakily. it's silent for a few moments before veronica suddenly speaks up.

 

“a fire. If we start a fire they'll have to evacuate us. they'll more than likely take us outside, we can make a run for the woods when we’re all outside. they won’t even notice we’re gone until they do counts…” veronica whispers, and cheryl licks her dry lips, nodding as she digs a nail into veronica’s palm. 

 

“that could work…but how would we even start a fire?” 

 

“we’ll figure it out…we need to talk to betty and toni, see if they have any ideas.” veronica whispers, and cheryl purses her lips.

 

this is insane, they can't do this...they can't just escape, what if they got caught? but toni...god, why was cheryl so caught up on the pink haired girl and her less than stellar chances of survival in this place? and not only that, but what about everyone else stuck in this hellhole? 

 

they couldn't just leave them behind to suffer. some of them were already beginning to convert, desperate to please the nuns, to get out of this hell on earth...

 

“what about everyone else, veronica? we can’t leave them behind…” she says hoarsely, voicing her thoughts out loud, and veronica squeezes her hand gently.

 

“i don’t want to leave them behind, cheryl, but it has to be just us. we can’t bring everyone along, that's insane. but i swear to god, one day, we’ll burn this place and all the nuns and the guards down with it. we’ll come back for everyone, we have to. but right now…right now we have to be selfish. we have to think of ourselves, okay?” veronica croaks out, and cheryl can hear it in her tone, how much it kills her to be thinking of escape without everyone else coming with her…

 

they’re all being punished for a crime they aren’t even at fault for. 

 

god, none of this was fair, none of it at all... 

 

but veronica’s right…they’ll come back one day…and with the influence cheryl and veronica have, they could shut this place _down for good._

 

cheryl knows if she utters one word of what's going on here to jason, he'll be the first to storm through these doors, demanding every single person in charge get arrested, letting everyone else go free...

 

“veronica, are we really thinking about doing this?” cheryl whispers, still not quite believing they're entertaining the idea of escape, and veronica sighs before letting go of her hand and looking through the grate at her.

 

“i don’t want to die in here, cheryl. do you?” she whispers throatily. cheryl swallows the lump in her own throat before she shakes her head.

 

no…no, she doesn’t want to die in here…not surrounded by fear and anguish…not surrounded by hate and despair…and she doesn't want the others to die in here either...

 

_toni..._

 

“this is our only chance. we can do this, we just need to plan it properly…think it through, we can’t rush it…” cheryl nods numbly, and veronica sighs before she wipes away her tears and smiles at her.

 

“get some rest. we’ll talk to toni and betty tomorrow at breakfast.” cheryl nods again, but when she looks in veronica’s eyes, her sadness is replaced with determination.

 

this idea has reinvigorated the spark inside veronica lodge, given her life when all hopes of regaining it looked bleak and far...

 

and cheryl will be damned if she squashes it out of her, even if what they’re planning is absolutely insane…

 

“goodnight, veronica.”

 

“night, cheryl.” 

 

\-----------------

 

“are you absolutely insane?!” 

 

betty cooper’s eyes are wide with disbelief and shock, her voice coming out in a hiss as she looks around anxiously before turning her glare back to veronica and cheryl. veronica sighs knowingly, as if she was expecting the blonde to be resistant, and cheryl watches as toni's eyes widen and she scoffs.

 

“what’s so insane about it?! they’re right, we can’t stay here! i’m in!” toni says immediately, grinning widely as she leans back in her chair takes a bite of the apple on her tray. cheryl smiles at her broadly, toni throwing a wink her way, and god, cheryl has never met anyone as amazing as this girl-

 

betty scoffs and shakes her head, pulling cheryl's attention away from the pink haired girl. 

 

“there’s guards everywhere! and if we get caught, we’re dead!” betty whispers anxiously, looking around at the guards as if they might have heard her, and veronica reaches out and grips her hand on top of the table, a sadness in her eyes that cheryl finds herself looking away from, unable to bear the sight of her friend looking so morose when she knows the cuts on veronica lodge's arm exist...

 

“we’re already dead, b.” she says hoarsely. when cheryl turns back to face them, betty is looking at veronica in anguish as she chews on her bottom lip, and it's as if there is a silent argument happening between their eyes, betty's expression filled with despair. cheryl knows she's afraid more for veronica than herself, scared that if this plan fails, it would push veronica over the edge, so why even risk it when there was a less than twenty percent chance it would succeed? but cheryl knows...she knows that despite the fact that betty sees the eighty percent chance of failure, veronica _sees the twenty percent chance of success._ yin and yang, pessimism and optimism, fire and ice...opposites that attract each other...

 

cheryl glances at toni, who sighs before looking around quickly and leaning in.

 

“ronnie’s right, betty, and you know it. we can’t stay here, we’re…we’re slowly losing ourselves in this hell on earth, and i can’t…" toni trails off, the look in her eyes filled with despair, and the pink haired girl licks her lips and shakes her head as if contemplating her next words.

 

i can’t bear to be here any longer. none of us are going to survive this place...if we can plan an escape properly…if we can do that, we can be free.” there’s an eager look in toni’s eyes, a look that cheryl finds herself staring at in awe.

 

that passion in her eyes, god, cheryl wants nothing more than to capture it in a freeze frame and stare at it forever...bottle it up and cherish it for the rest of her life because it's something so amazing, so beautiful to witness in person...

 

betty sighs and leans in as well, letting go of veronica’s hand in the process.

 

“and if we get out, what happens then? we have no car, no money, nothing! we won't make it five miles before they capture us and throw us back in here, and then what? the torture gets worse?” betty hisses. cheryl's heart drops.

 

god, was that even fucking possible? for the torture to get worse? it can't possibly...it's already so bad, breaking apart her mind and heart and soul so easily and openly-

 

"jason.” cheryl breathes, the word exiting her lips before the thought even enters her mind. veronica, betty and toni look at her in confusion, and cheryl feels tears prick her eyes as she thinks of her twin brother on the other side of the world, probably wondering why she hasn’t called in six weeks, desperate to talk to his twin sister...was he thinking about her right now? was he anguished, pondering where she was, what she was doing, if she was okay? maybe he was already in riverdale, demanding his mother tell him where cheryl is...

 

or at least, she _hopes_ that’s what’s happening…

 

“my twin brother, jason…if i can contact him, he can help us on the money front. my parents are loaded and they’re always giving him money, no questions asked. the only thing is, he lives in london…” cheryl bites her lip in hesitation, but toni shakes her head.

 

“if he falls through, we can go to my friends, sweet pea and fangs. they live on the southside of riverdale, at sunnyside trailer park, i can guarantee you, they’ll help us. they’re probably still looking for my ass, wondering where the hell i am…we can trust them.” toni says slowly, and cheryl winces slightly.

 

she can't believe she's entertaining the idea of going to the southside. her mother had all but banned her and jason from ever going there because of the southside serpents and the reputation the southside had for gangs and drugs and violence, but right now, she doesn't care about any of that.

 

if toni has people there they can trust, she'll live on the goddamn southside if she has to.

 

toni suddenly grins wickedly and pats cheryl on the back enthusiastically, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts. 

 

“didn’t know you have a twin, blossom. is he cute?” she says with a waggle of her eyebrows, and cheryl rolls her eyes.

 

“he’s my twin brother, toni, what do you think?” she says, raising an eyebrow and toni chuckles before she takes another bite of her apple with a shrug.

 

“touche, cheryl, seeing as you’re the most attractive person here…” cheryl bites down on her lip to hide her smile as toni chews thoughtfully before shrugging again.

 

“eh, i’m more into girls, anyways. besides, he’s not the blossom i have my eye on…” she says, winking at cheryl cheekily, and cheryl feels her own cheeks flush red as veronica rolls her eyes and slaps a hand on the table.

 

“can we talk seriously here? this isn’t some idea i’m just throwing out there for funsies. i want out of this hellhole, and there’s no way i’m leaving without you three by my side. so are you in?” she says firmly, looking at all of them with a raised eyebrow, but a serious look of anxiety in her eyes, and toni laughs before throwing her apple onto her tray with a wide grin.

 

“i’m in, veronica. hell, if we pull this off, i’ll kiss you.” betty’s head snaps to glare at her as veronica laughs.

 

“as much as i appreciate it, toni, there’s only one pair of lips i care about kissing…” veronica looks at betty worriedly now, and betty sighs as she looks at veronica, all that love and adoration appearing on her face once more, but it’s mixed with fear and sadness as she licks her lips and grips veronica’s hand under the table.

 

“ronnie…” her tone is laced with fear, and cheryl feels horrible for the blonde girl, knows why she’s so afraid, god, she is too, they all are…

 

but they can't stay here, and cheryl knows that betty knows that. betty probably wants to get veronica out of here just as badly, scared for what will happen to the girl she loves if she stays here for much longer under the torturous hold of the nuns...

 

“we could be free, b. free to kiss each other…to _love_ each other…isn’t that what you want?” veronica whispers, and a tear falls down betty’s cheek as she stares at veronica for a long time, mulling over her words, and cheryl doesn’t even realize she’s holding her breath until betty sniffs and exhales shakily.

 

“okay, i’m in.” she whispers. cheryl lets out a sigh of relief, and veronica looks like she’s on the verge of tears as she smiles widely.

 

“i love you.” she mouths, and betty smiles and wipes her tears away as toni grins widely.

 

“great, you can kiss veronica, i’ll kiss cheryl, deal?” toni teases, trying to lighten the mood, but cheryl only feels her heart pound against her chest at the thought of kissing toni, and god, she doesn’t understand _why._

 

she grabbed heather hathaway and kissed her with no hesitation, but the idea of kissing toni has her mind spinning and her heart racing. cheryl blossom didn't get scared or nervous or anxious when it came to kissing someone. what the hell made toni topaz so different?

 

damn this pink haired girl and all her charm…

 

she feels a warm hand slide into her own under the table, and she turns to look at toni, who squeezes her hand, but looks at her with a small, reassuring smile. 

 

“you in, blossom?” she says surprisingly softly, and cheryl licks her lips before looking at all three women.

 

they have to do this. cheryl’s not gonna be left behind in this hellhole, she _can’t…_

 

they have to get out of here. veronica, before she took her own life in despair, betty, before she lost the love of her life due to all the pain and suffering...toni...toni, before she was beaten to a pulp and left for dead...

 

“i’m in.” she whispers. toni grins, and veronica nods once before she immediately begins talking about plans, leaning in closer so there's no chance of anyone else hearing them.

 

“first things first, we need to start a fire of some sort. it’ll unlock the security gate, and they’ll more than likely evacuate us-.”

 

“are you sure about that, ronnie? they already believe we’re gonna burn in hell, why not just let us burn right here, too?” toni mutters, and veronica shakes her head.

 

“as much as they probably want us all to suffer horrible deaths, they’ll have a lot of angry parents to answer to. they’ll evacuate us, that i’m sure of.” 

 

“then what?” betty whispers.

 

“they’ll take us outside to the main yard, and there’s woods right beside us. we gun it, as fast as we can…if we go deep enough, they’ll lose us-.”

 

“no. that’s not gonna work, ronnie.” toni says simply, and veronica raises an eyebrow.

 

“why not?” she demands. toni scoffs. 

 

“because everyone will be in the yard! they’ll see us! we’ve gotta get out inconspicuously!” toni hisses.

 

“how, toni?! there’s no other way-.”

 

“the tunnel.” betty says suddenly with wide eyes as if she’s just come to realization, and toni scoffs.

 

“that tunnel is a myth, betty.” she says with a dismissive wave, and cheryl looks between them both wildly.

 

“wait, what tunnel?” she asks desperately, and veronica sighs.

 

“there’s a rumor that there’s a tunnel inside this treacherous place that the sisters used to use to sneak booze in, it leads out to fox forest.” she says, and toni rolls her eyes, but betty licks her lips and shakes her head.

 

“it’s not a myth, toni! i was talking to richard yesterday while we were on cleaning duty, apparently a kid here last year said it’s the door that always has a guard standing by it! too many boys were using it to escape into fox forest to hook up with guys in town, so they’ve posted a guard there twenty four seven, but if there’s an evacuation…”

 

“the guard will leave, too.” veronica breathes with excitement, and cheryl can’t sit still, her whole body fidgeting as she tries to calm herself down.

 

this is actually, really happening…could they really pull this off?

 

"guys, we don't even know if that tunnel is real, and you don't know riverdale like cheryl and i do, fox forest is fucking huge-."

 

"then i guess it's a good thing you're coming with us, topaz." veronica says with a shrug. cheryl hesitates. toni was right, fox forest was gigantic, it would be easy to get lost...but that also means they'd be harder to find, and at this point, cheryl would rather get eaten by a bear or a wolf or whatever lived in that forest than suffer another day in this hellhole. at least she would've fed a cute animal in the process of her death...

 

“if we do this, we’d need to do it when everyone’s in one place so no one can spot us...during lunch or something-.” toni starts, but betty shakes her head.

 

“dinner. they call us straight from our chores to dinner instead of letting us out of our rooms, it'll be easier for one of us to sneak by and start the fire.” she says in a low whisper, and toni chuckles.

 

“you were so hesitant a second ago and now you’re formulating the whole plan, cooper.” she guffaws, and betty shrugs.

 

“i’ve always been good at sleuthing. the only thing we need now is something to start the damn fire with.” she bites her lip, and the four of them think for a long time, all of them with frowns on their faces as they continue eating their breakfast when cheryl suddenly remembers something…

 

“one of the guards…he’s a smoker. i saw him with a cigarette tucked behind his ear once, it’s the guy with the beard and the bald head!” she whispers hastily, and toni groans softly.

 

"ugh, i've looked at those cigarettes so longingly for weeks now...i asked him for one once and he slapped me." she growls, and cheryl winces as veronica frowns.

 

"so you know which one she's talking about?" she asks, and toni nods solemnly.

 

"yeah dude, it's the burly looking one who always hangs around sister agnes. his name's anderson i think.” toni says with a frown, and cheryl nods.

 

“he’s bound to have a lighter on him.” cheryl breathes, and toni nods slowly as she looks at veronica and betty with a small smile.

 

“well, someone’s gotta be on seduction duty, and seeing as you two are gayer than a rainbow pride flag, i guess i’ll be the one to do it.” 

 

“seduction duty?” veronica says with a raised eyebrow, and toni grins.

 

“yeah! i seduce him, get his dick hard, steal his lighter and tell him i’m a good christian girl repenting for my evil, gay ways.” she says with an innocent pout, raising her hands into a prayer pose as betty rolls her eyes and veronica laughs, but cheryl feels nothing but anxiety.

 

what if he tries to do something to toni? something…something horrible…

 

god, toni's been through enough shit, she can't let her go through this, too...

 

"i'll do it, toni. you've been through enough, and what if he tries to…” cheryl trails off, unable to even say it, and toni scoffs and shakes her head.

 

“he won’t get the chance to, don’t worry. southside serpent, remember? i learned how to knock somebody out with a single punch before i even learned how to ride a motorbike. besides, i'm not putting you in danger, blossom. not before i get the chance to kiss those pretty lips of yours.” toni teases, but cheryl's too distracted by her fear to feel shy right now as betty sighs.

 

“it’s risky, toni…” betty says softly, and toni shrugs.

 

“a risk i’m willing to take. what’s something that catches fire easily?” she asks with a frown, changing the subject at the drop of a hat, and cheryl wants to argue, wants to tell her it's too dangerous, but she knows nothing she says will stop toni from doing this-

 

veronica suddenly snaps her fingers with a grin.

 

“the broom closet. remember when bridget found that bottle of booze behind the cabinet?” toni’s eyes light up.

 

“molotov cocktail, my weapon of choice.” she says with a grin, and cheryl can’t believe this is all coming together so fucking quickly…

 

“it can’t be this easy…” she whispers, and toni scoffs.

 

“it’s not gonna be easy, blossom. we’re gonna need to plan this step by step for at least the next goddamn week or so. we’re not leaving this place until we have _everything_ planned out. we need plan a all the way to plan fucking z. every little thing that can go wrong needs to be sorted out. but at least, for now…we’ve got the basics.” toni says in a low voice, and betty nods.

 

“seduce the guard, get his lighter, use the bottle of booze to create a fire, somehow slip past the nuns in all the chaos and get to the hidden door.” she checks off, and toni nods.

 

“that’s it. one of us is gonna have to check that the bottle of booze is still in that cabinet-.”

 

“i’m on cleaning duty tomorrow, i’ll check then.” betty says firmly, and toni nods again before she cracks her knuckles, craning her neck until it pops as well before she grins at the three ladies before her.

 

“alright then…let’s plan our escape to paradise, shall we?” she turns to cheryl, and she quickly glances around before she reaches out and tucks a stray lock of hair behind cheryl's ear, goosebumps immediately erupting on cheryl's skin at her touch.

 

"don't worry, blossom. i'm getting you the hell out of here."

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait everyone, and sorry for how short it is, i promise the rest of the chapters will be a bit longer, but things are getting intense now!

it takes _weeks._

 

cheryl thought they'd have it all sorted within at least a week or two, but it's been almost four now and they've only just starting to get the plan together more coherently. the truth is, they can't put the plan together when all they get is half an hour, three times a day in the cafeteria together, only ten minutes of each meal spent talking about 'operation paradise', as toni had so lovingly and appropriately named it, because they were scared the sisters would get suspicious if they spent too much time whispering excitedly under their breaths.

 

cheryl can feel the excitement and fear beginning to bubble in her chest the closer they get to ‘operation paradise’. they’d decided on july fourth, toni grinning widely as she muttered a quick ‘god bless america’, and veronica and betty had decided it would be a good day to plan their escape as well.

 

not only for the aesthetic of the fourth of july being a day of ‘freedom’, but also because the roads would be busy, and they might be able to come across a hitchhiker easier. cheryl was only praying that whoever they came across didn’t suspect foul play, was praying that they wouldn’t end up back in this hellhole after spending _weeks_ planning the perfect escape.

 

on the fourth of july, toni would be on cleaning duty with betty. once they were signaled for dinner, betty and toni would turn their charm on and lure the guard named anderson into one of the bathrooms, with wiles of wanting to be changed and ‘feel a man’s touch’…

 

toni had already begun her work, throwing flirty smiles at anderson’s way, and cheryl had tried to swallow down the mixture of anger, jealousy, and fear every time anderson had been quick to smile back at toni, nothing but lust shining in his eyes, but it was hard. she was not only jealous, but scared. what if he decided to take toni for himself one of these days, shove her into one of the bathrooms and have his way with her? god, it's fucking _sickening_ to even think about, but cheryl wouldn't put it past him or the nuns to be okay with something like that happening...

 

she’d been the one to suggest betty help toni with the seduction aspect of the plan, her fear for toni only growing as each day went by the closer they got to the fourth, and betty had simply shrugged and agreed as toni had watched cheryl with a light smirk on her face. 

 

“don't want him touching the goods before you do, huh, blossom?” she had teased, but that wasn’t the case at all.

 

cheryl had no idea how to tell toni that she was truly scared for her, that anderson looked like a complete and utter creep, and cheryl was fucking terrifed of what he'd do to her. she's raised the suspicions once, and toni had scoffed and told her she could handle it but, god...she may be a southside serpent with the bravest heart she knows, but without back up, what if he overpowered her? what if he…

 

cheryl doesn’t even want to think about it.

 

once they got the lighter off the guard, toni would knock him out, take his keys and they’d leave him in one of the cubicles. they’d join the crowd making their way to dinner, where they’d meet veronica and cheryl at the broom closet. betty had checked the bottle of booze was still there, which it was, and they’d use that, along with a piece of material ripped from one of their dresses, to light the entire broom closet on fire, molotov cocktail style. 

 

they’d then rush off to dinner, and once the alarm went off and they were ushered out into the yard, they’d detour and make their way to the guarded door betty and toni have passed so many times on their way back to their rooms. one of the keys would be bound to open it, as betty had told them she’d seen anderson go through that door to smoke a cigarette before…

 

it seems perfect. the only question is, can they pull it off?

 

they have to. that’s all cheryl can think of…they absolutely have to.

 

because cheryl’s resolve is slowly starting to thin, her mind becoming more and more distant the longer she spends here, and she clings to the hope of july fourth, clings to that day with everything she has because if she doesn’t, she’s sure she’ll fall. the ‘group activity’ sessions are becoming harder, cheryl reading the verses from the bible with more fear, more rage than she’s ever felt in her life, and sister agnes must hear it in her voice, because she’s been looking at her in disappointment more and more as the weeks have gone by. she’d been forced to move the sack of potatoes for two full days last week, and her ice baths had become more frequent, to the point that every day when she wakes up, cheryl's surprised she can even still feel her body.

 

but she’s _so close_ now, she can’t give up…none of them can. they can do this, they just need to hold out a little longer...

 

the fourth of july is a week away, and cheryl is pacing in her room, her nerves starting to get the better of her as veronica sighs through the grate in the room right beside her.

 

“cheryl, i can hear you pacing.” veronica deadpans, and cheryl winces before she collapses onto her bed with a sigh.

 

“can you blame me, ronnie? we’re less than a week away from ‘operation paradise’, and if it all goes to shit, we’re probably going to die in here.” she croaks out. it's getting to be too much now, the stress and the anxiety, and cheryl wants to go through with this plan, but she's positive she's going to get a stomach ulcer soon if this keeps going on much longer. she just wants it to be next week already...

 

veronica sighs loudly, and cheryl can hear her putting her book down (which cheryl knows is ‘the bible’ because it’s the only book they’re allowed to read in this goddamn place) as her voice gets closer to the grate. cheryl sighs and moves under the bed to get to her, and when she sees veronica’s face, it’s filled with anxiety.

 

“i’m nervous, too, cheryl. but we can’t stay here.” 

 

“i know, i know…” cheryl whispers, closing her eyes and letting her tears fall. 

 

getting out of here...getting toni out of here...that's what mattered. the pink haired girl had ceased her constant sniping and back chat now, determined to fall into the crowd and become a fly on the wall now that she was planning an escape worthy of the alcatraz prison break, and her wounds had all but healed now, cheryl finally seeing her skin clear of bruises and cuts for the first time since she'd met her two and a half months ago now. 

 

she was still just as beautiful, if not even more so now...

 

veronica smiles at her, and she chuckles as she shakes her head and runs her fingers through her hair.

 

“i’ve never been big on faith, but my mom is. i’ve actually been reading the bible every night, praying to god to get us out of this safely. meanwhile, she’s probably praying to god that i come out of this a straight woman.” she says monotonously, and cheryl winces again as she licks her lips and shakes her head.

 

faith has never been a thing for her. her parents believed in nothing but money and power, and cheryl has never stepped foot inside a church, or read a book of religion...cheryl's not even sure what she believes in, truthfully...

 

“my parents never had faith. we never followed any religion. i don’t…i don’t know what it means, to believe in something.” cheryl says softly, and veronica shakes her head.

 

“sure you do, blossom. you believe in your friends, don’t you?” she says kindly, and cheryl smiles at her and nods without hesitation.

 

“yeah.”

 

“good. because we’re gonna get through this, the four of us. together.” 

 

and cheryl believes that. cheryl believes that with everything in her because if this didn’t succeed, at least she’d die with her three best friends right beside her. if cheryl's going to go down...god, she's happy it's by the sides of veronica lodge, betty cooper and toni topaz, three girls cheryl never in her entire life thought would become her best friends...a rich girl who fell from grace, a girl from a broken family with a father who refused to accept her, and a girl raised on the wrong side of the tracks...

 

penelope blossom more than likely never anticipated cheryl finding three best friends in this place. and she definitely isn’t anticipating cheryl escaping with said three best friends, but cheryl doesn’t care. she’s getting the hell out of here. and if she dies trying, all the better. 

 

she can’t stay another day in this place. 

 

“one more week...do you think you can handle it?” veronica asks softly, and cheryl sighs.

 

“i have to, don’t i? i can do this though...we all can.” she mumbles, and veronica nods solemnly before she closes her eyes and exhales deeply.

 

“one more week, kid. one more week and we’re out of here.” 

 

\---------------

 

“cheryl, read the next verse, dear.”

 

sister agnes’s voice echoes in the room, and cheryl looks up at her with boredom before she slowly drags her eyes back down to the page in front of her.

 

god, they’ve been reading for over two hours now, droning on and on through the verses of the bible, and cheryl's heard this so much at this point, she's sure these words are burned into her brain. she's never, ever, read the bible before, was hoping to go through her whole life without doing so, and now...now she wouldn't be able to forget it even if she tried her goddamn hardest. 

 

cheryl’s been looking up at toni for some relief during this goddamn snowstorm of droning voices and cryptic words, and toni's been doing her best to keep the red haired girl entertained, throwing her occasional winks or grins that cheryl would reciprocate happily.

 

thank god for toni topaz…cheryl's positive she would've lost her mind a long time ago in this place if it wasn't for her...

 

“‘isaiah, forty, one. comfort, comfort my people, says your god. forty, two. speak tenderly to jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the lord’s hand double for all her sins.’” cheryl drawls, and she finds herself clenching her fist underneath the book as she reads these words, nails digging into her palm as sister agnes smiles.

 

“keep going.” she says sweetly through clenched teeth, and cheryl glares at her before looking back down to the page of the yellowing book in front of her. 

 

she’s making her read this verse on purpose, cheryl knows she is, the fucking bitch, she wants nothing more than to grab this book and smack her across the goddamn face with it-

 

“‘forty, three. a voice of one calling…‘in the wilderness prepare the way for the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our god.’’” 

 

cheryl pauses, and sister agnes suddenly stands from her seat, making her way over to the red haired girl as she comes to stand behind her. cheryl’s heart is pounding against her chest painfully as she licks her lips and brings her eyes back down to the page. 

 

“‘forty, four. every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low…the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.’” cheryl whispers, and sister agnes rests her hands on cheryl’s shoulders, cheryl jumping slightly from the unexpected contact.

 

_just read the verse, cheryl, read the verse…_

 

“‘forty, five. and the glory of the lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. for the mouth of the lord has spoken.’” she breathes in fear, and sister agnes squeezes her shoulders, her lips suddenly making contact with cheryl’s ear and making her shiver involuntarily. 

 

“spoken it has, dear child. the lord has brought you here to be cleansed.” sister agnes whispers into her ear, and cheryl swallows the lump in her throat, tears welling in her eyes as she closes them and allows them to fall in despair.

 

what does she want from her, she's doing as she asks, she's reading the verses, god, please-

 

"a trip to the ice bath once we're done here i think, cheryl..." sister agnes breathes, and cheryl's heart drops, her tears falling before she can stop them.

 

god, six more days, just six more days, please let her last just six more days...don't let them take her now when she's so close, don't let sister agnes claim the rest of her soul like a goddamn creature of the night-

 

“‘isaiah, forty, twenty nine!’” cheryl’s head snaps up at the sound of a voice, and her eyes land on toni, who is staring at sister agnes behind her with nothing but rage shining in her eyes as she looks down at the book in her shaking hands.

 

“‘he gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak!’” toni yells, standing up onto her seat as she does, and cheryl whimpers.

 

_what is she doing, she's going to get herself killed!_

 

sister agnes’s grip on cheryl’s shoulders is nail biting as she growls under her breath.

 

“sit down, miss topaz!” she hisses. cheryl looks at toni anxiously, begging her to just _sit down_ before she gets in trouble-

 

but toni topaz lives for chaos. and cheryl should've known she wouldn't last in keeping her mouth shut...

 

toni’s eyes gleam with mischief as she grins wickedly at sister agnes. 

 

“‘forty, thirty! even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall-.’”

 

“I SAID SIT DOWN!” sister agnes finally lets go of cheryl and moves past her, marching toward toni with every intention of striking her down, and toni jumps down from her seat and moves behind it, away from sister agnes’s grasp as cheryl watches on in panic.

 

what is toni doing? she needs to stop, this can't be happening-

 

“‘forty, thirty one! but those who hope in the lord will renew their strength! they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary! they will walk and not be faint!’” toni screams, and the others sitting around the group and cheryl are watching on in complete and utter shock, numb to do anything as sister agnes reaches across the chair and grabs her arm-

 

“NO!” cheryl runs forward, her chair falling from the velocity of her flight, and she has no idea what she's doing, just knows she needs to keep toni safe as she grabs sister agnes’s free arm and pulls her away from toni in desperation, and sister agnes lets go of the pink haired girl to swing her arm around-

 

she makes contact, fist connecting with the whole right side of cheryl’s face, and the whole world spins as cheryl trips over the chair and finds herself looking up at the ceiling, the whole right side of her face throbbing painfully. 

 

she can hear her mother screaming in her mind, calling her foul, vile, _deviant-_

 

“cheryl!” toni moves into her line of vision, her angelic face hovering above cheryl as she looks down at her in concern, and her cold fingers reach out and brush against cheryl’s already bruising cheek. cheryl can feel her bottom lip trembling, can feel the tears welling in her eyes from the impact of sister agnes’s fist, and god, she wants toni to hold her close, to comfort her, to press a kiss to her brow and tell her everything will be okay-

 

“you insolent child!” cheryl hears sister agnes scream, and suddenly, her face is hovering behind toni’s, her fingers curling into pink locks and pulling toni up by her hair. cheryl reaches for her almost desperately as toni winces in pain, and toni growls and swings her own fist wildly- 

 

cheryl isn’t sure what happens next, but toni and sister agnes move out of her line of vision as she blinks a few times and shakes away the cobwebs, and the sound of a door bursting open echoes around the room as cheryl sits up and looks around in a panic-

 

two guards are standing at the door, and they look down at cheryl in surprise, before they turn their gaze to toni-

 

toni, who’s pounding her fist into sister agnes’s face-

 

_no, no, no this isn't happening, this can't be happening!_

 

the guards rush over, and cheryl finds herself screaming so hard, her voice box tears.

 

“TONI, RUN!” 

 

toni looks up just as one of the guards reaches her, and cheryl sees the stun gun in his hand-

 

“NO, PLEASE!” cheryl jumps up and rushes forward, because god, they can't hurt her, they can't, not after everything, god no-

 

the other guard wraps his arms around her to stop her as the guard jams the stun gun into toni’s side. her whole body spasms as her head falls back, eyes rolling, and the guard is gripping her bicep to keep her upright as he continues sending voltage into toni’s body-

 

“STOP! STOP IT!” cheryl can’t see anymore, the tears falling down her cheeks blurring her vision as she struggles against the arms wrapped around her chest.

 

no, no, they’re going to kill her, she can’t lose toni-

 

toni collapses into the guard’s arms, the sound of static still echoing in the air as her head lolls against the guard’s shoulder.

 

she’s unconscious. 

 

“TONI!” cheryl digs her nails into the forearms of the guard gripping her, but his hold only tightens as tears of despair fall down cheryl’s cheeks. 

 

no, no, this can’t be happening-

 

“GET HER INTO ISOLATION NOW!” sister agnes screams through her hands that are clutching her broken nose, blood and tears streaming down her face, and the guard carries toni away, dragging her limp body out of the room and away from cheryl.

 

no, no, _this can’t be fucking happening, it can’t be-_

 

“LET ME GO!” cheryl kicks and screams, and the guard grips the back of her neck in his hand harshly as sister agnes glares at her. she wipes away the blood spurting from her nose as she runs forward and clutches cheryl’s chin in her hands angrily, and cheryl glares at her with hot tears falling down her face.

 

cheryl wants nothing more than to rip her apart, tear her limb from limb-

 

“be quiet, child, or you’ll suffer the same fate! all of you, report for lunch immediately!” sister agnes roars, and the others begin piling out of the room, desperate to get as far away from this situation as possible so they don’t end up where toni is.

 

isolation? god, what does that even mean- 

 

“what do i do with this one?” the guard says gruffly behind cheryl, and sister agnes waves him off dismissively.

 

“take her to her room, she can wait until tomorrow morning for her next meal!” sister agnes hisses, and cheryl’s heart drops as the guard drags her out of the room, cheryl not even bothering to fight him, lest she get another bruise on her face…

 

why, why had toni done that, why couldn’t she just stay quiet and let cheryl handle it? god, isolation? cheryl didn’t even know what that meant, but it couldn’t mean anything good…what were they going to do to her? toni, toni, _toni-_

 

the guard throws her into the room with her name on the door, his eyes filled with anger as she stumbles into her bed frame, and she’s barely righted herself before the door slams shut behind her, the sound of the key being turned and the lock clicking echoing in her room, and then-

 

silence. 

 

\-----------------

 

“cheryl?!”

 

cheryl’s ears perk up at the sound of her name, and she can hear the sound of the grate opening-

 

“veronica!?” cheryl drops down to the ground, crawling under the bed as she gets to the grate to see veronica looking at her through it with wide eyes.

 

“cheryl, what the fuck happened?! you and toni didn’t show up for lunch, and there’s rumors going around that toni beat the crap out of sister agnes-.” cheryl is crying hysterically before she can stop herself.

 

she's been left with nothing but her thoughts for almost an hour, and she has no idea what's going on outside the walls of her room, has no idea if toni is okay, if she's hurt, if she's fucking dead, god, this can't be happening-

 

“we were reading and sister agnes made me read a p-passage and toni got mad…sister agnes tried to grab her, and i tried to s-stop her, and she hit me, and then…toni just went crazy!" cheryl breathes. 

 

"fuck! what did she do?" veronica growls, and cheryl takes in a shuddering breath.

 

"she attacked sister agnes...the guards came in and stunned her and dragged her off to isolation at sister agnes's request, ronnie, i...i don't know what that means..." cheryl trails off with a sniff, and she watches in horror as veronica’s face grow pale, a look of terror and dread taking over her features as she closes her eyes and exhales shakily.

 

“oh god…”

 

“what? what does that mean, ronnie?” cheryl asks in despair, because whatever it is, it can't be fucking good considering veronica's reaction, and god, why did toni do that-

 

veronica blinks back tears as she licks her lips and shakes her head.

 

“nothing good, cheryl. i…i was in isolation for three days, it’s…it’s torture, cheryl. one meal a day that consists of a piece of stale bread and a cup of water, no contact with anyone, and…really, really fucked up methods of conversion therapy…” veronica’s voice is so small, so, so small, and she sounds fucking _terrified._ cheryl’s heart is pounding in her ears.

 

fucked up methods of conversion therapy, what did that even mean? oh god…oh god, toni was in there, all alone-

 

“what…what methods, veronica?” cheryl breathes, and veronica is crying now, tears falling down her face as she looks up at cheryl in defeat. 

 

“electroshock therapy, repulsion therapy…they gave me this pill that made me vomit while i watched videos of women kissing…trying to get me to associate intimacy with sickness, god, cheryl…it's the reason i tried to kill myself." veronica whispers. 

 

cheryl can’t fucking _breathe._

 

oh god…they were torturing her, they were torturing toni and it was all because she stood up for cheryl…no, no, cheryl can't let this happen, electroshock therapy? they were hurting her, they were hurting toni-

 

cheryl knows toni was part of the southside serpents, has probably endured pain and torture before but even cheryl knows that's beyond anything toni could have anticipated...

 

toni was stuck now, in some horrible cell, being electrocuted and god knows what else, and cheryl feels bile rise in the back of her throat at the image of toni strapped down to a bed with electrodes connected to her temples, her body seizing as screams of pain were muffled by the cloth in her mouth-

 

no…no, she can’t let that happen to her, she can’t let that happen to toni-

 

“we need to get out of here.” cheryl whispers back. veronica blinks away her tears, wiping her cheeks as she sniffs and nods.

 

“we need to escape earlier. the plan needs to happen tonight.” cheryl’s heart drops.

 

tonight? is she insane, they can’t do this without toni, she was half of the plan! what the hell is veronica thinking?

 

“a-are you insane, veronica? w-we c-can’t-.” 

 

“toni can’t stay in there, cheryl, you don’t…you don’t understand! what they do, what they did to me…i won’t let toni go through that!” veronica cries, her face filled with anguish, and cheryl knows she’s thinking of the same image in her own head, probably reliving the pain that toni could be going through right now, the pain that made her want to take her own fucking life, and cheryl’s bottom lip is trembling out of fear and anguish as she bites down on it and shakes her head.

 

veronica is right, she knows she is, but toni was such a big part of the fucking plan…

 

“veronica, toni is half the plan, without her, we have to go back to square one, and i’m not allowed out of here until tomorrow morning, we…we _can’t_ -.”

 

“betty and i will get anderson, we’ll seduce him, take his keys, i’ll…i’ll take over toni’s part of the plan.” veronica says with determination, and cheryl hesitates.

 

it…it could work, but god, they were already taking a risk with the original plan, the risk now is exponential. having to change it all last minute and do it tonight instead of a week from now…they can't do this. they can't.

 

toni, strapped down to a bed, being electrocuted...

 

“veronica, we can’t do this-.”

 

“you have no choice, cheryl. you’re stuck in here, and meanwhile toni’s probably being tortured or beaten and…” veronica trails off, her jaw clenching, and cheryl closes her eyes and tries her best to breathe.

 

this is crazy, this is absolutely insane, they can’t just jump into this plan, but…

 

but toni was suffering. and toni didn’t deserve to suffer, god, not after everything she’s done…she did this for cheryl. she stood up to sister agnes for cheryl…

 

they have to get her out of there. 

 

“cheryl, it’s going down. tonight. i’ll talk with betty during lunch, we’ll change the plan, and we’ll execute it before dinner! we’ll come and get you out of your room using anderson’s keys, and i know where isolation is, we can get toni before we go to the door…we can do this. it’s possible. we’re getting out of here, cheryl…” cheryl’s chest is heaving with fear as veronica licks her lips and nods with determination, and cheryl knows there’s nothing she can say to change her mind.

 

veronica lodge is determined. veronica lodge is ready.

 

“we’re getting out of here tonight.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait on this one, but it's well worth it! this is a very exciting chapter, i can't wait for you guys to read it! please let me know what you think in the comments! thank you!

cheryl blossom paces back and forth in her room, her heart still pounding even though it’s been hours since toni had been taken to isolation.

 

she has no idea what’s going on, no idea if toni is okay, or if betty and veronica are still going to go through with pulling the trigger on ‘operation paradise’ tonight.

 

she’s completely lost, and she fucking hates it. her stomach feels heavy from all the anxiety currently coursing through her veins. what if veronica or betty or both of them gets caught? what if they’ve been thrown into isolation as well and cheryl doesn’t know it? what if her three best friends are being tortured right now and she’s helpless to do anything, locked in her room with no way out whatsoever?

 

veronica had left hours ago to do her chores before dinner, had promised cheryl she’d come for her as soon as the plan was in motion, and the whole plan had been to execute the seduction of the guard before dinner started, but cheryl has no concept of time, no watch, no clock on the wall to tell her what time it is, and she’s on the verge of a full mental breakdown.

 

what if her friends _need_ her? 

 

she growls in frustration, a fist flying out and connecting with the wall, and her knuckles immediately throb with pain, but cheryl bites down on her lip and punches the wall again, the pain giving her a distraction from everything happening around her-

 

what if toni was hurt right now? what if veronica was being strapped down to a bed and given pills to make her vomit? what if betty was being tortured, or punched, or beaten? what if toni…

 

god, toni…

 

blood begins to paint the wall now, her knuckles splitting and aching with pain, and tears are rolling down her cheeks, her teeth biting down so hard on her bottom lip that more blood is being drawn, but she _can’t fucking stop._

 

she needs to get out of here, she needs to fucking get out of this room.

 

there has to be a way, there has to be. she can’t stay here, her best friends need her. god, this place was a fucking prison, a fucking mental asylum, and cheryl wants out. she wants fucking _out._

 

where were they? where was veronica, where was betty, _where was toni-_

 

the sound of keys jangling outside her door has her pausing, and she steps back, her heart racing as she cradles her bloody fist against her chest and wipes her tears away with determination. if it’s sister woodhouse, she’s ready. her hand’s already aching, if she needs to punch a face in, she will, she’s not letting them take her, not anymore-

 

the door opens-

 

and veronica lodge’s face appears, looking incredibly frazzled, but overall, determined as her eyes search the room before they land on cheryl, and she grins widely, holding her hand out for cheryl to take. 

 

“hey! come on, we don’t have a lot of time!” she hisses with excitement, and cheryl almost collapses in relief, her feet stumbling forward until she’s wrapping her arms around veronica tightly and sobbing into her shoulder.

 

she’s okay, she’s safe, she wasn’t caught-

 

wait. that means they’ve done it. her and betty have actually done it, they’re escaping, they’re doing this _tonight…_

 

holy shit. holy fucking shit-

 

“we’re okay! part one is done, cher, we just gotta get toni now!” veronica breathes, rubbing her back gently before pulling away from the redhead with a smile. cheryl whimpers, but she’s starting to realize that veronica’s the only one here, a certain blonde ponytail missing from this reunion-

 

“where’s betty?” cheryl asks in a panic, her eyes looking around wildly, and veronica shakes her head and grips cheryl’s face in her hands. 

 

“she’s okay, cheryl, we just knocked out the guard, we managed to lure him into the girls bathroom pretty quickly, the fucking creep, but he was a total whimp, cheryl. the second betty raised a fist to his face, he begged for mercy...we made him tell us which keys were for your room and which ones were for isolation and the secret door before we knocked him out. i took the key to your room to come and get you and betty went ahead to start the fire, which means the alarm should be going off any second-.” 

 

a loud blaring sound echoes throughout the entire building, and cheryl winces and covers her ears, the sound so loud, it _hurts._ she looks up just as veronica grins widely.

 

“now.” she finishes her previous sentence, a look of smug pride on her face, and cheryl can’t fucking believe this. everything’s coming together, how is this fucking possible-

 

“we gotta go! we have to meet her at the isolation ward, come on!” veronica grips cheryl’s hand, and a spark of pain shoots up her arm, cheryl pulling away from her with a cry of pain. she cradles her injured hand to her chest, and veronica looks at her in shock, her eyes falling on the bloody mess that is cheryl’s hand, but cheryl doesn’t care right now, reaches out and grabs veronica’s hand with her non-injured one.

 

“i’m okay, let’s just get out of here!” cheryl breathes with excitement. veronica frowns, but squeezes her hand before dragging her down the corridor, and cheryl tries to calm herself down from the adrenaline as she keeps her eyes peeled for any nuns or guards.

 

they can’t get caught now, they’ve come so far… 

 

they’re doing it. holy shit, they’re getting out of here-

 

veronica squeezes her hand as she tears down the hallway, leading cheryl down a few empty hallways, and she’s constantly stopping and checking around the corner before she drags cheryl around it, both of them more cautious than they’ve ever been in their lives before. 

 

“the isolation ward is just down this hallway-.” veronica’s cut off by the sound of pounding footsteps, and she freezes, screeching to a halt and looking at the end of the hallway in horror as cheryl feels bile rise in the back of her throat.

 

fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK-

 

she starts dragging veronica back, but the footsteps get closer and someone runs around the corner-

 

cheryl lets out a groan of relief, veronica sobbing happily as betty cooper tears down the hallway toward them, her eyes wide and fearful before she jumps right into veronica’s open arms. 

 

“you did it, babe!” veronica whispers into her ear, tears falling down both their faces and betty smiles as she pulls away and cradles veronica’s face in her hands, crashing a bruising kiss to her lips. veronica groans against her, and cheryl wants to be happy for them, wants them to have the kiss that they’ve probably never had before because of this fucking place, but _now is not the time-_

 

“guys, we have to get to toni!” cheryl begs, and they pull away from each other, looking a little dazed before veronica nods, licking her lips before nodding down the hallway to their right.

 

“down this way!” veronica grips betty’s hand, and betty grabs cheryl’s, the three of them refusing to let go of each other as cheryl’s heart pounds against her chest painfully.

 

toni, the last piece of the puzzle, they have to find her-

 

the hallway is _long,_ doors on each side of the white walls, and cheryl can see what looks like a security door up ahead. how the hell are they supposed to get through that-

 

“wait, wait! veronica, stop!” betty tugs her girlfriend back, her eyes wide as she looks through the small window of the security door in horror.

 

“someone’s coming! we have to hide!” she hisses, and cheryl’s heart drops as veronica looks at them both in terror before her eyes fall on the door to their right.

 

“in here!” she grabs both their hands, dragging them through the door, and it groans as it opens, the smell of dust immediately hitting cheryl’s nostrils as she holds back a sneeze. veronica shuts the door, her eyes moving the tiniest bit to look through the window as sweat drips down her brow, and cheryl and betty aren’t even _breathing,_ both of them looking to her in panic.

 

“who is it?” betty breathes. veronica shakes her head, and cheryl purses her lips before moving under the door and peeking her head up, her eyes landing on the security door just a few meters ahead of them as it opens. 

 

two guards walk through, both of them gripping a small figure between them, and the second cheryl sees pink hair, her heart drops.

 

“they have toni!” she breathes. veronica groans, and she grips cheryl’s shoulder tightly, looking to betty in worry.

 

“shit! shit, what do we do?!” veronica whines, but before her and betty can come up with a plan, the redhead decides for them.

 

cheryl doesn’t even hesitate.

 

she’s not leaving this fucking building without toni by her side. 

 

she throws the door open, ignoring veronica and betty’s cries as she runs forward just as the guards pass their door, and she swings her injured fist as hard as she can, her knuckles breaking against the back of the head of one of the guards.

 

cheryl knows her hand is broken, pain zapping up her whole arm as she bites down on her already damaged bottom lip to stop herself from screaming, but it works. the guard drops to his hands and knees from the impact, and she feels a body rush past her, sees tanned hands grab the stun gun at the guard’s belt-

 

“what the hell?!” the other guard looks at cheryl in bewilderment as veronica sparks the stun gun to life, jabbing the guard on the ground, who howls with pain, his whole body jerking and spasming, and the other guard growls as he bares his teeth and goes to grab cheryl, but he doesn’t even get a chance to.

 

toni, who has been limp in the arms of both guards, suddenly growls, her head snapping up as she throws an elbow out into the guard’s face, and the sound of bones cracking echoes in the hallway, the guard howling in pain as he falls to his knees, clutching his face. toni collapses against the wall, groaning in pain, and cheryl finally takes in her appearance.

 

“oh god…oh god, toni!” cheryl runs forward, tears immediately brimming in her eyes as toni looks up at her with nothing but pain shining in her own brown eyes. 

 

she has cuts all over her face, her left eye slightly swollen as her arms wrap around her body tightly, and cheryl knows she must have broken ribs from the way she’s holding herself, her face contorted in anguish-

 

“i’ve got you!” cheryl runs forward and wraps her arms around the pink haired girl, holding her close as toni grips the back of her dress, and cheryl closes her eyes when she feels toni’s lips press a kiss to her neck softly. 

 

god, they hurt her, they beat her up again, how much more can toni fucking take...cheryl knows she's strong, has seen her go through so much but there's only so much the human body can take and cheryl didn't want this to happen to her again, god, please-

 

“get…me out…of here…” she breathes into cheryl’s ear, and cheryl licks her lips before pulling away from toni and cradling her face in her hands.

 

“we are, we’re getting out of here, toni! i promise!” she whispers. cheryl jumps when she hears another spark of electricity, and she turns to see veronica jabbing the stun gun against the guard with the broken nose’s neck, his eyes rolling in the back of his head before he collapses beside the other guard that cheryl punched. 

 

betty, veronica, cheryl and toni all look at each other in surprise for a few moments before veronica swallows loudly and breaks the silence.

 

“we have to go, we don’t have a lot of time. toni, can you run?” veronica whispers hoarsely, and toni bares her teeth as she stands up straight and looks at cheryl.

 

“i might need help-.”

 

“i’ve got her, veronica.” cheryl says immediately, wrapping an arm around toni’s waist as the pink haired girl throws an arm around her shoulders, wincing in pain as she does. veronica looks down at the guards in disgust before she reaches down and grabs a flashlight from one of their belts. she looks up at betty breathlessly, her face pale as she takes the blonde girl’s hand.

 

“the door to the tunnel. where is it?” 

 

“near the broom closet. let’s go!” cheryl grunts with the effort as she drags toni along as best she can, and the pink haired girl is groaning with each step, her teeth sinking down into her bottom lip to stop herself as cheryl grips her waist tighter.

 

“we can do this, toni.” she whispers, and toni squeezes her shoulder as her eyes flutter closed and she nods. 

 

“i told you…i’m getting you out of here, blossom.” she pants, and cheryl smiles as she blinks back the sweat that falls down her face and eyes, following betty and veronica down the hallway toward the broom closet. 

 

they can do this, they're so close now, they can do this, come on...

 

she can smell smoke, the scent getting stronger the closer they get to the broom closet, and betty hesitates as she grabs veronica’s hand and pulls her back.

 

“someone’s gonna be putting the fire out, they’ll see us.” she breathes. veronica looks to cheryl and toni with worry, and cheryl takes a deep breath in as she swallows the lump in her throat and nods at them.

 

“we have to gun it. as fast as we can, we’ve come so far, we can’t stop now.” she whispers hoarsely. veronica licks her lips, and cheryl tightens her hold on toni as betty and veronica clasp hands. 

 

"anderson told me what key opens the secret door before we knocked him out." betty breathes, reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling out the key. veronica inhales sharply.

 

"think you can get it in the keyhole in time?" she breathes. betty nods slowly, looking down at the key as if it holds her life in it's hands, and it fucking does, it holds all their lives-

 

“no matter what happens, we stick together. if one of us goes down, we all do. i’m not leaving here without you guys by my side.” betty whispers, looking up at the girls anxiously. veronica nods firmly, and cheryl swallows down the bile that rises in her throat once more as toni buries her head into the crook of cheryl’s neck with a soft groan. 

 

“if we get out of here alive, i’m kissing you, blossom.” she mutters. cheryl’s heart pounds against her chest, and she smiles before pressing her lips to toni’s forehead softly.

 

“better get my lips ready then, topaz.” she whispers back. toni smiles against her weakly, and veronica and betty pull each other in for another passionate kiss, betty groaning against the raven haired girl with a whimper before veronica wipes away betty’s tears and takes a deep breath in.

 

“ready?” they all nod, prepared for what they’re going to need to do.

 

run, run fast and don’t look back.

 

 _run, run fast and don’t look back…don’t look back, cheryl…_

 

“now!” veronica and betty run forward, and cheryl grits her teeth and runs forward too, dragging toni along with her and wincing as the pink haired girl whimpers against her, and they tear down the hallway, meters away from the broom closet when a shout echoes behind them.

 

“hey! hey, you’re supposed to be outside-.” cheryl doesn’t turn back, her heart in her throat as betty shoves the key into the lock and twists it-

 

it opens, and veronica and betty run through immediately.

 

“WE’VE GOT RUNNERS!” someone yells, and cheryl pulls toni forward as she groans with pain, her heart racing as she runs through the door after veronica and betty, slamming it shut behind her as she tears down the stairs as fast as she can. she’s dragging toni at this point, the pink haired girl panting against her as veronica and betty run down another flight of stairs.

 

the smell of sewerage hits cheryl’s nose, but she keeps running as water begins splashing at her feet, the tunnel pitch black as a beam of light suddenly appears ahead of her-

 

“keep running!” veronica yells, lifting the flashlight ahead of them to see where they’re going, and cheryl can hear pounding footsteps behind them-

 

oh god, oh god, they’re being followed, they’re gonna get caught-

 

“let me go, cheryl.” toni breathes into her ear.

 

cheryl almost comes to a stop, her feet faltering at the sound of toni’s voice beside her, but she ignores her completely, shaking her head as she keeps dragging her forward. 

 

“no fucking way, toni!” she shouts, and the footsteps are getting closer, but cheryl will fucking fight until her last breath-

 

“i’m sorry.” toni whispers, and before cheryl can do anything, can say anything, can feel anything, toni’s ripping herself out of her grasp, pushing her forward as she falls to her knees with a cry of pain-

 

“TONI!” cheryl stops running, her feet staggering to a stop as she turns back just as the guards reach toni, and they grab her by her arms and lift her, one of them punching her straight in the stomach-

 

“NO!” cheryl runs forward, feels another guard grab her, strong arms wrapping around her chest, almost suffocating her-

 

it’s over, it’s done, they’ve been caught, they’re never fucking getting out of here, it’s done. her mother will get her wish, cheryl won’t be leaving here until she’s either dead or a vegetable under the torture of sister woodhouse and the other nuns…

 

toni, she has to save toni, that's all she cares about, toni, god, toni-

 

the sound of static, a flash of blue light, and the guard suddenly lets her go, cheryl stumbling forward as a scream of pain echoes behind her. 

 

cheryl turns in time to see veronica and betty by her side, betty reaching down and grabbing another stun gun from the belt of the guard veronica just popped as she runs forward and jabs it against the guard holding toni, veronica doing the same to the other guard holding her. 

 

they both drop to the ground, water splashing around them as toni looks up at them with tears streaming down her face, her hands clutching her stomach in pain.

 

“i said-leave me-.” she chokes out, and cheryl drops down to her knees in front of her, tears falling before she can stop them as she cradles toni’s face in her hands. 

 

“i’m not leaving you here, toni. not now. not ever.” she whispers brokenly. she can’t leave her here, not after everything toni’s done for her, not after feeling what she's felt the last two months with this girl by her side-

 

“guys, we have to go, come on!” veronica and betty grab them both by the arm, dragging them up as veronica begins dragging toni down the sewer, betty gripping cheryl’s hand in her own as more footsteps begin to echo behind them, and cheryl shakes her head before tearing herself out of betty’s grip and helping veronica with toni, the both of them moving faster as they both pretty much carry the pink haired serpent up a flight of stairs, toward a ladder-

 

“here!” betty begins climbing up the ladder, veronica following after her before cheryl grips toni’s waist and helps her forward.

 

“we’re almost there, toni, come on!” she breathes, and toni grits her teeth before she grabs the rungs of the ladder and begins climbing, her whole body trembling as veronica grabs her outstretched hand and pulls her up the rest of the way. 

 

cheryl climbs as fast as she can as she hears sister agnes’s voice.

 

“COME BACK HERE!” she screams, and cheryl stops at the top of the ladder and throws out her middle finger at the nun.

 

“FUCK YOU!” she screams, and veronica laughs as cheryl grips betty’s outstretched hand, her feet landing on solid ground, and she can see moonlight ahead-

 

they’ve done it. holy fucking shit, they’ve done it-

 

she grabs toni once more, her and veronica both grunting as they lift toni off the ground and carry her out into the open air, and the second she smells the fresh air of fox forest, cheryl begins crying.

 

they’re free, they’re fucking _free-_

 

“we’re not there yet, we need to get on the road!” betty yells, and cheryl grits her teeth and nods as they all keep running, toni holding onto veronica and cheryl for dear life as they carry her through the uneven terrain.

 

cheryl doesn’t feel truly safe until the woods are thick around them, the trees getting closer together as the moonlight begins to fade above them, and despite all her childhood fears of fox forest, she finds herself loving the beautiful woods before her. they're protecting her from more pain, more suffering...

 

veronica clicks the flashlight back on as betty becomes their navigator, taking the flashlight from veronica and leading them through the forest as best she can.

 

they’ve been running for almost half an hour, sweat sticking to every inch of their bodies before betty suddenly shouts in triumph.

 

“i can see the road!” she shouts, and toni groans in relief as veronica and cheryl carry her down a small hill, all of them stumbling over their own feet and toni’s weight before their feet land on asphalt.

 

a road. 

 

a road, they just need a driver now, and they’re home free, oh my god…

 

it doesn’t hit cheryl that they’ve actually escaped as they keep running along the road opposite the direction of the sisters of quiet mercy, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the nuns as possible. 

 

it feels like a daydream. a daydream that she never wants to wake from. they made it, how the hell did they make it, how is this possible-

 

lights flash up ahead, and cheryl squints as toni suddenly grips her tightly.

 

“it’s a car.” she whispers hoarsely. cheryl’s heart drops.

 

“betty, veronica! it’s a car!” she screams, and betty and veronica suddenly jump onto the road, throwing their arms up as the car rounds the corner before coming to a screeching halt in front of the two girls.

 

it’s a truck…a truck that looks oddly familiar…

 

“hey!” a figure jumps out of the truck, and cheryl’s eyes land on a mop of unruly red hair atop a head that she knows all too well.

 

oh god…the whole reason she entered that fucking place…to please her mother…

 

“what are you doing in the middle of the…” the figure trails off, his eyes landing on cheryl before they widen in complete and utter surprise. 

 

“cheryl?” archie andrews breathes. cheryl whimpers.

 

_married to a man like archie andrews, with a baby in her belly and her mother looking at her as if she holds her world in the palm of her hand…_

 

“cheryl, is that you?” archie whispers, stepping forward, and cheryl licks her lips as archie comes to a stop in front of her, his eyes looking her up and down in worry.

 

“cheryl, what…are you okay, where have you been? you disappeared after prom without a word!” he says anxiously, and cheryl shakes her head before gripping toni tightly. 

 

she’s come full circle. 

 

because she knows archie andrews. he has a good soul. he’ll help them. 

 

they really are _free…_

 

“archie, i…i don’t have time to explain, i just…god, i’m so happy to see you…” she whispers, and archie frowns as he suddenly grips her shoulders.

 

“cheryl, you look you’ve been through hell-.”

 

“i have, archie. hell and back, with the scars to prove it, but right now…” cheryl swallows thickly, and she looks at toni, who winces before nodding at her, to veronica, who watches archie and cheryl anxiously, to betty, who is looking around with wide eyes as if she’s expecting the nuns to pop up at any moment…

 

“i need you to take us to the southside. sunnyside trailer park, right, toni?” she breathes, looking to the pink haired girl desperately. she nods once, and archie looks at her in disbelief before he purses his lips and looks at the others.

 

“the southside? cheryl, why-.”

 

“archie, please, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible, i don’t know how long we have!” cheryl groans, and toni’s grip on her tightens as archie sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, contemplating for a moment before he nods. 

 

“okay! yeah, get in the truck, all of you!” he says, waving them forward, and cheryl cries in relief as veronica suddenly grabs archie and presses a kiss to his cheek.

 

“god, if i wasn’t gay, i’d kiss you right now.” she breathes, and archie blinks once in confusion as cheryl drags toni toward the truck. 

 

“there’s…not enough seats.” toni pants, and cheryl frowns before she looks at the back of the truck.

 

it’s empty, a few blankets covering what looks like car parts, and archie steps forward before nodding and walking to the back of the truck.

 

“yeah, you two will need to lay in the back, i can only fit two in the front.” 

 

“toni and i will, she needs to lie down.” cheryl says softly, and archie’s eyes look over toni’s injuries in concern before he pulls the cover of the truck down, holding his hand out for cheryl to take. she does so, and he helps her up onto the back of the truck before doing the same with toni. she cries out in pain, cheryl wrapping her arms around the pink haired girl before laying her to rest near the front of the truck. toni looks up, a smile lighting up her face as she blinks weakly.

 

“i haven’t seen the stars in so long…” she whispers morosely, and cheryl blinks back tears as archie locks the cover up. betty and veronica jumps into the car, betty pulling the window back and looking at cheryl in concern.

 

“can we trust this guy?” betty asks, also looking at cheryl with concern and cheryl smiles.

 

“archie’s one of the best people i know. we can trust him, betty.” she says softly. archie jumps into the driver’s seat, and he looks back at cheryl in concern.

 

“stay down, okay? if a cop sees you back there, he’ll pull me over, and something tells me you guys wanna avoid the police at all costs.” cheryl nods once before she lays down beside toni, and she feels the truck rumble to life underneath her body before they take off, the wind whipping around them loudly as cheryl looks up at the stars.

 

they look beautiful, shining and twinkling above her, and cheryl hasn't seen a sight like this in almost two months...god, it's beautiful. stunning. radiant...

 

she swallows as she reaches down and grips toni’s hand in her own, feeding off the warmth, and she feels like she's floating, in a whole new headspace, because she's out of that place, she's out, she's out, she's out- 

 

"why did you do it, toni? why did you stick up for me, they hurt you...again..." cheryl whispers, turning to look at the pink haired girl, who winces and turns to face her.

 

"because i like you, cheryl. i like you a lot and i don't like seeing you in pain." toni says hoarsely. cheryl swallows thickly, closing her eyes as her tears fall, and toni looks back up at the stars with a weak smile.

 

"you know, before i met you, i thought the stars were the most beautiful thing i'd ever seen..." she croaks out, and cheryl bites back a smile as she moves in closer to toni, her body shivering slightly from the cold wind hitting them.

 

"seeing them now...can't compare. nothing does." toni whispers, turning to look at her once more. cheryl's teeth bite down on her lower lip, and god, toni looks so beautiful underneath the moonlight...

 

“i said i’d kiss you if we got out of there, cheryl, but i’m gonna be honest. i can’t really move.” toni groans out softly. cheryl smiles and sits up slowly,propping herself up onto slightly to look down at toni.

 

“then i guess i have to kiss you.” she whispers hoarsely. toni smiles, her eyes moving from the stars to cheryl as she inhales deeply with a wince.

 

“i guess you do.” she whispers back. cheryl reaches out, a hand cradling the side of toni’s face as her fingers brush over the dried up blood from the multiple cuts on her face, and she licks her lips, her heart pounding in anticipation before she leans forward and captures toni’s lips in her own. 

 

toni kisses her softly, a hand reaching up to curl into cheryl’s red hair, and cheryl feels a spark she’s never felt before flood her entire body as toni deepens the kiss, her tongue exploring the roof of cheryl’s mouth as the redhead moans against her. 

 

it’s like fireworks. like magic. utterly and devastatingly _beautiful,_ and cheryl blossom, for once in her life, is sure.

 

she’s sure that she could spend the rest of her life kissing toni topaz’s lips and she’d never get sick of it. 

 

toni’s hand falls from cheryl’s hair down her neck, fingers brushing over her collarbone before they wrap around the back of her neck and pull her in closer, and cheryl’s practically lying on top of the pink haired girl now as her hands grip toni’s waist, fingers digging into that god awful dress they were all forced to wear- 

 

toni’s fingers are in her hair again, and cheryl loses herself in the feeling of toni’s lips against hers once more, mouths moving languidly against each other as cheryl brushes her tongue against toni’s lower lip, asking for entrance. toni grants her it, a soft gasp escaping her as cheryl kisses her as passionately as possible, and god, she will never get sick of this, ever, ever-

 

“god, this is better than i ever could of possibly imagined.” toni whispers against her lips, pulling away slightly to gasp for air as cheryl pants against her breathlessly. 

 

“i’m not hurting you, am i?” cheryl whispers in concern, adjusting herself so her weight isn’t against toni as much, and toni chuckles as she looks up at cheryl in complete and utter awe.

 

“i’m fucking floating on cloud nine right now, blossom, i can’t feel a thing.” she croaks out, and cheryl grins as toni touches her cheek before pulling her back down teasingly. cheryl’s lips hover over toni’s before her teeth bite down on cheryl’s lower lip lightly, tugging on it, and cheryl groans before her tongue flicks out, brushing against the wound she’s created. cheryl is shaking above her now, not just from the adrenaline, but from the wind that hits them harshly as archie continues driving them to the southside, and toni licks her lips before she runs her thumb over cheryl’s bruised lips gently.

 

“get down here, blossom, i wanna hold you and never let you go.” she mumbles, and cheryl bites back a smile before she presses a kiss to the corner of toni’s mouth, her mouth moving down to kiss her jawline before she settles against toni’s chest happily.

 

toni wraps her arms around her tightly, and cheryl grips her waist, her ear resting over toni’s chest. she can feel the soft thrumming of toni’s heart, and she closes her eyes and allows the exhaustion to take over. 

 

she’s safe.

 

she’s free.

 

_they made it._

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres the next chapter everyone! just letting you all know that i also went back and added some tidbits to the other chapters, nothing plot changing, but small things here and there, so if you wanna go back and give the other chapters a read through again i'd recommend it! i just realized i left some things out from their time at the sisters that i wanted to add, so yeah!

the ride to the southside seems to take forever.

 

cheryl stays curled up against toni’s chest, her injured hand beginning to throb with pain now as she looks down at the bloodied mess of bruised knuckles and broken skin. toni’s grip on her tightens, a soft groan escaping her as cheryl leans up and presses a kiss to her jawline.

 

“are you okay?” cheryl whispers. toni sighs.

 

“feeling a lot of the pain now. kiss it better?” she says with a playful pout, and cheryl chuckles as she pushes herself up to hover over toni’s body, the pink haired girl looking up at her with a tired smile. 

 

“when we get to the southside, what happens, toni?” cheryl asks softly. toni’s smile fades, a hand reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind cheryl’s ear as she licks her lips thoughtfully. 

 

“i have to find sweet pea and fangs. they’re like my brothers, cheryl, if anyone can help us, it’s them. the only thing is…we have to avoid my uncle. if he sees i’ve escaped, he won’t hesitate in dragging me back to the sisters by my hair.” she croaks out. cheryl nods slowly, her mind turning as she looks down at toni with a frown.

 

they can’t stay here…they need to get somewhere far away from this town altogether. go somewhere where nowhere can find them…

 

“we need to get out of riverdale altogether. if i can get my hands on a phone, i can message my brother, jason…ask him for help.” she says softly. toni smiles.

 

“sweet pea has a laptop, we can use it to contact your brother, okay?” cheryl nods, pursing her lips before toni wraps a hand around the back of her neck and pulls her down for a gentle kiss. cheryl sighs against her breathily, her injured hand reaching up to cradle toni’s cheek, and toni pulls away from her, looking into her eyes with such softness, that cheryl finds herself moving down to kiss her once more.

 

what has her life become? she was on top of the world, the head bitch in charge at riverdale high, prom queen and general queen bee, and a simple make out session with heather hathaway in the back of her convertible had turned into this. her being imprisoned involuntarily in a gay conversion therapy camp…thrown into the arms of two girls who she saw as her best friends, and a pink haired southside serpent whose lips she can’t, and never will, stop kissing. 

 

god, she just tastes so _good…_

 

the truck suddenly rolls to a stop, cheryl pulling away from toni in surprise as she looks up to see archie turn and look at her through the window, opening it as he does with a small smile on his face.

 

“we’re here, cheryl.” toni pushes cheryl off her gently, and cheryl grips her hand, helping her sit up slowly as she whimpers in pain. her whole face is contorted in a wince, and cheryl presses a kiss to her temple as archie, betty and veronica jump out of the truck. archie opens the cover once more, holding a hand out for cheryl to take, and she jumps down with his help, both of them holding a hand out for toni. she takes both of their hands, sighing with a wince as they help her scoot off the back of the truck and onto the ground. cheryl looks around in wonder at the many trailers that surround the area. she’s never been to the southside before, tales of the serpents striking fear in her to the point where she’d avoided it altogether.

 

and now she was kissing one in the back of archie andrews’s truck. what a strange turn of events…

 

“veronica and betty told me everything, cheryl…i’m so sorry.” archie says suddenly, and cheryl looks up at him to see genuine sadness and concern in his eyes, a hand reaching out to grip cheryl’s shoulder sympathetically. cheryl reaches a hand up to touch archie’s cheek, a sadness welling deep inside her heart as she stares into his chocolate brown eyes.

 

maybe in another life, cheryl blossom and archie andrews would’ve worked out. maybe in another life, cheryl could have that life she once desired so much…a life with archie andrews by her side as her loving and devoted husband, his child growing inside her as penelope blossom watched her progression in life with nothing but pride and adoration. 

 

warm fingers suddenly interlace with her own, and a simple touch from toni topaz has cheryl blossom coming to a conclusion in her mind.

 

a conclusion that she’d much rather have a life on the run with toni topaz than a life trying to please penelope blossom. 

 

“you’re a good man, archie andrews. the best one i know…but i don’t want you to get involved in this any more than you already have. go home to your father, forget you saw us tonight.” she whispers. archie frowns in confusion before he shakes his head.

 

“cheryl, no, let me help you-.”

 

“you already have. the sisters won’t find us here, and we’ll be out of riverdale by morning. you saved us, archie. you saved us from a life of torment and pain and we can never thank you enough for it. but you need to go. the southside is no safe place for a northsider, you know that.” she says softly, and toni scoffs beside her.

 

“she has a point, red. you should get out of here.” she grunts. archie sighs, running his fingers through his red hair in hesitation.

 

“cheryl, you’re my friend, i can’t just abandon you when you need help…” he says with a shake of his head, and cheryl licks her lips before she leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek softly. 

 

“i’ll be okay, archie. trust me, the four of us together…we’re unstoppable.” cheryl says fondly, looking back at betty and veronica, who are holding each other’s hands tightly as they watch cheryl with a warm smile. archie frowns.

 

“cheryl…are you sure?” he asks softly. she smiles.

 

“i’m sure. we’ll always have that night at the party, archiekins.” she says with a cheeky smile, and archie’s worry disappears from his face as he chuckles, the memory of the night they kissed flooding his mind. 

 

“can’t believe you remember that. you know i had a crush on your for months afterwards, but i was too scared to do anything about it. we were like, what, fourteen?” he says with a chuckle, and cheryl shakes her head in disbelief.

 

of course…she could’ve had the life her mother wanted her to have…a life with archie andrews by her side as her loving and devoted husband, his baby growing inside her…

 

a boring life, really. they both deserve better. 

 

“you deserve better than being a victim to the blossom family and their high standards, archie andrews. maybe in another life, where my mother wasn’t such a torturous fiend of a woman…we could’ve been.” cheryl says, and archie sighs before he suddenly looks at toni, a knowing smile lighting up his face.

 

“i think…you look a lot better with her by your side.” he says, nodding at toni, and cheryl’s heart warms, her grip on toni tightening as archie leans in and presses a kiss to her forehead.

 

“if you need anything, cheryl, i’m a phone call away. don’t hesitate.” he whispers against her skin, and cheryl nods against him before he pulls away with a smile, looking at the other three women with a firm nod.

 

“look after her, okay? good luck.” toni smiles.

 

“i’ve got her, red, don’t you worry. and thank you…for everything.” she says. archie smiles, and he’s shutting the cover of the back of the truck before making his way to the driver’s seat. the truck rumbles to life, and archie lifts a hand in farewell before he leaves, heading back onto the road to the northside, where cheryl has no doubt penelope blossom is probably in a rage, the sisters calling her and telling her that cheryl had escaped…

 

“we have to be quick, god only knows how long it’ll be before my mother gets the police to start sweeping the whole of riverdale for us.” cheryl says with a shiver, and toni turns to face the trailers in front of her with a sigh.

 

“sweet pea’s is up ahead. come on.” toni leads the way, cheryl, betty and veronica following behind her, and cheryl eventually wraps an arm around toni’s waist to keep her steady, toni looking at her with a grateful smile before she leads cheryl to the left. they reach a tattered trailer, grey on the outside with some rust clinging to the metal as toni climbs the small steps to the front door gingerly.

 

she exhales shakily before raising a fist and pounding on the door, and they hear the sound of scuffling behind the door before it opens.

 

a gangly boy answers, his head almost hitting the top of the door frame, he’s so tall. a mop of black hair is atop his head, messy and unruly as his brown eyes widen in surprise, his eyes falling on toni in front of him in complete and utter shock.

 

“tiny?” he whispers. cheryl hears a thud in the trailer before there’s pounding footsteps and another boy appears, his dark skin shining under the moonlight as his brown eyes observe toni in front of him with happiness.

 

“holy shit!” he lets out a laugh of relief, and he grabs toni, wrapping his arms around her before toni cries out in pain and pushes him away.

 

“not so rough, fangs.” she croaks out, and the boy named fangs looks at her with a frown, his eyes taking in the cuts to her face and the way she’s holding herself.

 

“tiny, what the fuck happened? you’ve been gone for months, sweet pea and i looked everywhere for you!” fangs croaks out, looking beside him at the boy cheryl presumes is sweet pea.

 

“what happened to your face? who’s ass am i kicking?” sweet pea growls through bared teeth, and toni rolls her eyes before she looks at the other three girls.

 

“look, i’ll explain inside. can we come in? and can you please give me a cigarette? god, i’ve missed smoking…” she asks firmly, and the boys finally look at the other three women in surprise before they exchange looks and nod.

 

“yeah, come in.” sweet pea says, stepping aside as fangs helps toni into the trailer. cheryl, betty and veronica trail behind her slowly, sweet pea watching them with a frown of confusion, and cheryl looks around the trailer in wonder.

 

it’s small. very small. the kitchen and the living room are connected, and cheryl can see a video game of some sorts on a small tv screen before she turns her head to the left and sees a small dining area consisting of three chairs and a table. 

 

it slowly dawns on cheryl that this is the kind of place toni must have lived in before she was held at the sisters…a small, cramped trailer while cheryl had thornill manor all to herself…

 

it didn’t make a lick of sense, none of it. two girls so alike but so different, somehow here, together…

 

she sees a hallway up ahead, but sweet pea and fangs move to the living room, fangs dropping toni down on the couch gently as she groans with relief before smiling widely.

 

“ah…i missed the smell of this place.” she says warmly, closing her eyes and sinking back against the couch, and fangs raises an eyebrow.

 

“what, the smell of sweet pea’s farts and general body odor?” he says, and sweet pea grabs a pillow and slams it against fangs’s face angrily.

 

“shut it!” he growls. cheryl finds herself smiling, and betty and veronica chuckle as the boys look up at them in wonder. 

 

“what are your names?” fangs asks with a soft smile, and toni groans as she sits up slowly.

 

“blondie is betty. the girl beside her is veronica…and the absolute babe with the red hair is cheryl.” toni says with a grin, and cheryl rolls her eyes before looking at both boys with a smile.

 

“it’s nice to meet you.” 

 

“nice to meet you, too. i’m fangs, this is sweet pea.” fangs says, pointing to the black haired boy, and he raises a hand in welcome before turning to face toni again, and cheryl watches as he reaches into the pocket of his shirt and pulls out a pack of marlboro cigarettes, taking one out and handing it to toni before lifting a lighter to her lips.

 

“alright, spill, tiny. what’s going on? where have you been? why do you look like you got jumped by ghoulies?” he demands, and toni sighs as she takes a drag from the cigarette, the tip turning cherry red before she sinks back against the cough with a grateful moan. 

 

“before she starts, can we trouble you for a glass of water?” betty asks suddenly, and her request makes cheryl realize how parched her throat is, all that running finally catching up to her as she watches the smoke billow from toni’s mouth.

 

“yeah, sure thing.” fangs nods as he stands up and makes his way to the kitchen, pointing at toni as he does.

 

“speak loud and clear, tiny, i wanna be able to hear you from here!” he says, opening the fridge and grabbing four glasses, and toni rolls her eyes before she looks at sweet pea with a frown, taking another drag from the cigarette.

 

“remember when i told you uncle jake was pissed at me for getting arrested?” she says hoarsely. cheryl blinks in surprise as sweet pea nods, and fangs makes his way back into the living room, handing cheryl and veronica glasses of water before grabbing he last two and giving them to betty and toni. toni takes a sip, a groan of appreciation slipping from her lips before she lowers the glass and sighs.

 

“you were arrested?” cheryl asks softly. toni looks up at her in hesitation. cheryl’s never heard this story before, and she looks at toni in surprise. she was arrested? what for? 

 

“a whole bunch of us were. mayor mccoy was cracking down on jingle jangle, she thought we were selling it. next thing we all knew we were in a jail cell.” 

 

“yeah, and when we tried to tell her it’s the ghoulies providing jingle jangle to all those northside knuckleheads, mayor mccoy didn’t believe us. they raided our lockers at school, and when they didn’t find any jingle jangle, they finally let us go.” sweet pea hisses. cheryl frowns, chewing on her bottom lip tentatively.

 

cheryl remembers the increase in school security in her last few weeks, remembers mayor mccoy demanding the riverdale high students to come forward if they had any information on who was providing them with the drug…reggie mantle had been the one to tell her it was the serpents, but now that she thinks about it, reggie always had a vendetta against the snake jacket wearing kids, always whispering about them under his breath in anger…it would make sense for him to claim they were responsible for the increase in drugs being sold in order to wipe them out…

 

“wait, what does this have to do with your uncle, tiny?” fangs asks in confusion, and toni takes another sip of water before answering, her jaw flexing in anger before she takes another drag from her cigarette.

 

“turns out he thought throwing me into a gay conversion therapy camp so he wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore was his best option.” she says through clenched teeth, the smoke exiting from her nose like an enraged dragon. 

 

a heavy silence fills the room for a few moments, sweet pea and fangs processing what toni has just told them until fangs shakes his head rapidly. 

 

“you’re fucking kidding, right, tiny?” he says in disbelief. toni shakes her head and sweet pea suddenly growls under his breath and stands up, cracking his knuckles with clenched teeth.

 

“i’m gonna fucking kill him-.”

 

“no, you’re not.” toni grips his wrist and pulls him back down onto the couch with an exasperated sigh before she nods to the other three girls in front of her.

 

“what you’re gonna do is help us. we escaped about an hour ago, but we need to get the fuck out of riverdale until the heat dies down.” she says with worry, and sweet pea’s eyes widen.

 

“what, you’re gonna leave? toni-.”

 

“pea, you have no idea the hell we’ve been through, that place was no fucking joke. where do you think i got these injuries from? they’re probably out in droves looking for us so they can drag us back by the scruffs of our necks. we need to get out of riverdale like right now, so please…please, don’t argue with me. just help me. help us.” toni croaks out desperately. cheryl’s heart is pounding against her chest wildly, and she looks at betty in veronica anxiously.

 

what if they decide not to help, what if they’re all alone-

 

“fuck, of course we’ll help, tiny. what do you need?” sweet pea says softly. cheryl groans in relief, and toni smiles as she runs her fingers through her fading pink hair and exhales, finishing over her cigarette before nodding.

 

“we’ll need clothes. some form of transport-.”

 

“i’ve got your bike.” fangs says with a smile, and sweet pea shakes his head in anger.

 

“your uncle is a real piece of work, by the way. he tried to trash it, said you wouldn’t need it anymore, but we told him we’d keep it in case you came back.” he says, clenching his jaw, and fangs scoffs.

 

“fuck, i can’t believe he did this to you…” he growls, and toni stubs the cigarette out onto the ashtray in front of her and grips both their hands in her own tightly, her eyes swimming with tears as she looks between them both.

 

“i missed you guys so much…” she croaks out. sweet pea sighs and leans in to press a kiss to her temple, much like the kiss archie pressed to cheryl’s forehead.

 

a kiss of friendship, of camaraderie, of a different kind of love than romantic…these boys were like brothers to her. god, cheryl doesn’t know how toni survived for so long in that hellhole, knowing these two were out here, looking for their lost family member in desperation and anger…

 

“uh, toni…a bike won’t fit four people.” veronica says huskily, her voice crackling from lack of use, and betty suddenly smiles and grips her hand.

 

“two bikes do. i can ride. my dad taught me as a kid, we used to fix bikes and cars together all the time.” betty says softly, a look of pain crossing her face, perhaps from thinking of her father, a man she thought she could trust with her whole life who threw her into a gay conversion therapy camp to “cleanse her of her sins”. 

 

god, why did they all have such fucked up parental figures in their lives?

 

“you really are a lesbian.” toni guffaws, breaking the tension as betty looks at her in surprise before rolling her eyes with an exasperated sigh. sweet pea looks up at her with a smile.

 

“you can take mine. my dad’s fixing up his one to pass it down to me, anyway, we’re almost done with it. it’s a good bike, it’ll take you wherever you need to go.” he tells her, and betty nods as toni sits up slowly with a wince.

 

“we’ll need money, too.” she says firmly, and sweet pea and fangs both suddenly exchange panicked glances.

 

“ah…yeah, well, most i’ve got is about two hundred.” sweet pea says guiltily, and fangs sighs and nods solemnly.

 

“about the same. that’s not gonna get you far, toni-.”

 

“no, it’s okay. whatever you can give me, guys. cheryl, did you still want to contact jason?” toni looks up at her, and cheryl exhales shakily before veronica suddenly grips her hand.

 

“maybe wait on it, cheryl. i know we need money desperately, but if we go contacting jason now, your parents will probably know about it…” cheryl hesitates, and she looks at betty, who sighs solemnly before nodding.

 

“she’s right. right now, we need to focus on getting the hell out of riverdale.”

 

“we can’t do anything with just four hundred dollars, guys.” toni says with a sigh, and cheryl purses her lips.

 

they’re right. jason can wait…if penelope or clifford found out she’d contacted them, they’d all get thrown back into the sisters of quiet mercy, and cheryl’s not about to put them all in jeopardy no matter how much she misses jason...

 

her twin brother…god, she misses him more than anything. jason had been there for her through thick and thin, had held her hand and brushed her tears away whenever penelope spit words of venom at her, had kissed her forehead and told her he’d keep her safe, and when he’d gone to london, cheryl had felt broken, unsure of how she was supposed to do anything without her other half by her side…

 

but now…now she knows she can survive without him. she has three other people by her side now…

 

“however far it gets us, it doesn’t matter. as long as it’s far away from riverdale…” cheryl says hoarsely. veronica smiles suddenly, her eyes widening as she grips cheryl’s hand tightly.

 

“actually, if it can get us to south carolina, that’s all we need. i have a cousin who lives there, a cousin whose of the rainbow flag persuasion as well…he’s always supported me through everything, and if there’s anyone we can rely on, it’s him. he’ll give us money, at least enough to keep us set for a few months. he owns a gay night club.” she says softly. toni sits up slowly with a wince.

 

“yeah, south carolina is doable. you sure you’re okay with not talking to your brother, though, blossom?” toni asks softly, and before cheryl can answer, sweet pea suddenly looks at her with wide eyes.

 

“blossom…” he says, rolling her last name around in his tongue as if it’s venomous, and cheryl licks her lips before sighing.

 

yeah, she was wondering how long it would take…

 

“yeah. cheryl as in cheryl blossom, that’s me.” she deadpans, and sweet pea’s suddenly glares at her and looks at toni in shock.

 

“a northsider, tiny? really?” he says, and toni glares at him.

 

“when you’re fighting for your fucking life in a depraved hellhole, sweet pea, the whole northside/southside bullshit because a bit redundant and ridiculous. i wouldn’t give a fuck if she was the queen of fucking england, she was the only thing keeping me alive in that place, so get over it.” she growls, and cheryl finds herself biting back a grin as sweet pea clenches his jaw and looks to cheryl before he visibly relaxes and sighs.

 

“whatever…” he grumbles. fangs looks at her with a smile.

 

“forgive him. he has a huge grudge against the northside.” 

 

“what’s this whole northside/southside crap?” veronica asks with a frown of confusion, and cheryl sighs and shakes her head.

 

“just a town cut down the middle with both sides waging war. the southside has always been seen as the slums of riverdale, and the northside has been told to steer clear of this place for decades…it’s all bullshit to keep us divided, i never even thought of it that way until now…” she says softly, and toni smiles.

 

“yeah, but now that you’ve come here, i bet you really don’t wanna leave, huh, blossom?” she says with a wink, and cheryl rolls her eyes, but smiles all the same as sweet pea scoffs and stands.

 

“whatever, i’m gonna make some food. you guys want some?” toni groans and nods furiously.

 

“fuck, yes.” sweet pea rolls his eyes, and fangs suddenly chuckles and stands up before he leans in to press a kiss to toni’s forehead.

 

“i’m gonna run to my trailer, get you some clothes and money, okay?” toni smiles and nods, and fangs makes his way to the entrance as sweet pea sighs and makes his way to the kitchen.

 

“make yourselves at home, take a shower and take whatever clothes you can find, alright? some of it will be toni’s, but you can take some of my shit, too.” 

 

“i might shower first, if that’s okay?” veronica asks, and toni waves her hand dismissively.

 

“go for it, kid. sweet pea’s room is at the back of the trailer, rummage through the drawers, your bound to find my clothes mixed with his.” veronica smiles, and she presses a quick kiss to betty’s temple before she makes her way to sweet pea’s bedroom. the smell of eggs quickly fills the trailer, and cheryl sniffs with a low moan as toni smiles and grabs another cigarette from the pack sweet pea left on the couch. 

 

“do you think we can trust this cousin of ronnie’s in south carolina?” she asks, lighting the cigarette before taking a drag. cheryl shrugs, and betty smiles.

 

“his name’s alejandro, and veronica always talks about him. i’m sure we can trust him. south carolina isn’t far from here, is it?” toni sighs.

 

“about a twelve hour drive. we might need to stop at a hotel for the night…” she says with a frown. cheryl grips her hand not holding a cigarette and squeezes it.

 

“are you sure you guys can ride bikes for twelve hours straight?” she asks with worry, and toni chuckles.

 

“we’ll make pit stops to stretch our legs, don’t worry.” cheryl smiles, and toni reaches out to brush her thumb across cheryl’s bottom lip, her own parting in awe before she leans in and presses a kiss to the corner of cheryl’s mouth softly.

 

“you’re beautiful, cheryl blossom.” she whispers. cheryl smiles, leaning in to her touch when sweet pea suddenly bellows from the kitchen.

 

“alright! who wants some eggs?!” 

 

\----------------

 

within an hour, they’re all showered and ready to go. cheryl’s never felt cleaner, her whole body feeling fresh and new as she wears an old band t-shirt and ripped jeans that belong to toni, the shirt just one size too small so that it rides up and exposes her stomach, and toni had whistled in appreciation before grabbing a tethered and old looking red leather jacket and passing it to her.

 

“something tells me you look good in red…red.” she teased. cheryl had slipped her arms through the jacket with a smile, and toni had stared at her in awe for a few moments before clearing her throat and nodding.

 

“looks good.” she grumbled, her voice a little higher than usual. 

 

they’re all outside now, sweet pea and betty putting the final tweaks on his bike as veronica watches them with a smile, and fangs hands toni a roll of money, which she tucks into her bra with a sigh.

 

“it sucks that we’re losing you when we just got you back, tiny…but at least we know that you’re safe.” he says softly. toni’s eyes are filled with sadness, and she wraps her arms around fangs tightly, hugging him close as the brown haired boy buries his head into his best friend’s shoulder. 

 

“stay safe.” he whispers.

 

“always.” she whispers back. he pulls away with a sad smile, and sweet pea suddenly makes his way over to them, a spanner in his hands as he looks back at betty with a smile.

 

“alright, both bikes should be up and ready to go. here…” sweet pea grabs a roll of money from his pocket, handing it to toni, who sighs and goes to tuck it into the other side of her bra before sweet pea grabs her hand to stop her.

 

“you’re forgetting something.” he suddenly ducks back into the trailer, toni watching him with a frown before he exits it holding a leather jacket. cheryl frowns as toni suddenly tears up, her bottom lip trembling slightly as sweet pea walks over to her, holding the jacket out for her to put her arms through it.

 

“once a serpent, always a serpent.” he says, clenching his jaw, and toni licks her lips before she puts her arms through the sleeves of the jacket. when she turns, cheryl sees the green serpent emblazoned on the back, the words ‘southside serpent’ written on the top and bottom, and she’s seen those jackets around so often…god, how did she not meet toni before…

 

“thanks for keeping it safe.” toni whispers. sweet pea engulfs her in a hug, sniffing back tears before he presses a kiss to her brow and shoves her lightly.

 

“go on, tiny. go live your best life.” he says gruffly, and toni smiles, but grabs one of the duffel bags she’d packed her clothes in and holds it out for cheryl to take.

 

“mind carrying it on your back?” cheryl shakes her head with a smile, putting her arms through it and slinging it onto her back comfortably. it barely weighs anything, thankfully, and toni grabs a helmet and hands it to cheryl, helping her clip it on as betty does the same with veronica on the other bike. 

 

once the helmet is secure on her head, cheryl smiles as toni chuckles and leans in to kiss her softly.

 

“you look so cute.” she whispers against her lips. cheryl licks her lips before kissing toni again, and the pink haired serpent turns to face her two best friends with a sorrowful sigh.

 

“i’ll come back one day, guys. there’s no way i’m not.” 

 

“we’ll wait for you, tiny.” fangs promises her, and sweet pea gives her a two fingered salute as she returns it, sadness heavy in her eyes before she swings a leg over her bike and grips the handles. she turns the ignition, the bike roaring to life and rumbling underneath cheryl’s body as she wraps her arms around toni’s waist and leans in to whisper into her ear.

 

“are you okay, toni?” she whispers, her grip tightening in a comforting squeezes, and toni turns to look at her, a sad smile on her lips.

 

“i will be with you by my side.” she whispers back. cheryl smiles, and leans in to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth before toni kicks the stand down and takes off, the headlights on the bike turning on as a light turns on behind them. cheryl looks behind her quickly to see betty and veronica following close behind them, veronica looking carefree as she lifts her hands in the air and cheers before hugging betty close, and veronica chuckles as she buries her head against toni’s back and holds the pink haired girl to her body.

 

operation paradise was officially a success. but this wasn’t paradise…not quite yet. they were still scared, still desperate for money…but they were free. that was something, at least…

 

paradise was a little far away, but holding toni topaz close to her body, cheryl blossom thinks that right now, she’s pretty damn close to it.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh, it's over! thank you all so much for reading this fic, and i'm sorry for how long this last chapter has taken to come out, i've been busy, but thank you for all the amazing and complimentary comments, and thank you for sticking by my completely whack schedule of updating, lol. i hope you guys enjoyed this fic and i had the best time writing it! <3

**three months later**

 

cheryl blossom never, in a million years, would have thought her life would become this. but being on the back of a motorcycle with her arms wrapped around toni topaz’s waist, cheryl finds herself thinking that despite everything that’s happened…the life she lives right now isn’t so bad, really…even if the old cheryl blossom would have never approved. because right now, in this moment…this is the most free she’s ever felt in her entire life.

 

despite the helmet on her head, cheryl can feel the wind whipping through her hair, and for just a moment, if she closes her eyes and simply _feels_ the wind on her skin and her cheek pressed against the leather of toni’s serpent jacket, it feels like she’s _flying._ like she never experienced the horrors she did inside the sisters of quiet mercy, that none of them had…that she was simply a girl, with three other girls, enjoying a holiday in mexico instead of hiding from the fallout of the insane happenings within a ghoulish, nightmarish nunnery.

 

they’ve been stuck in mexico for almost three months now, veronica’s cousin providing them with money and a safe house here for them to lie low in, but truthfully, the word ‘stuck’ is a bad word to use. they aren’t stuck at all, because as far as cheryl’s concerned, it’s been…fuck, it’s been _magical._

 

the realities of what her life has become is still hard for her to grasp, and cheryl’s not quite sure why. the proof is right in front of her, with pink hair and wearing a southside serpent jacket, with the heat of mexico bearing down on the both of them, and cheryl constantly finds herself willing away the memories of what happened in that place, trying instead, to focus on the warmth coming from toni’s body, from the feeling of her arm muscles flexing every time she spurs the bike faster with a turn on the handle…

 

they’re alive. they made it. _they made it._ that’s what matters…

 

cheryl has had the last three months with toni topaz by her side, and if there was any doubt in her mind that this was her soulmate, it’s been quickly erased with every waking moment they’ve spent together. toni is _perfect_ , patient and kind and god, so, so beautiful, it hurts cheryl to even think about her sometimes.

 

for every nightmare that woke cheryl from her slumber with sweat clinging to her skin and a scream rising from her throat, there was toni pulling her into her arms and rubbing calming circles into her back, whispering words of comfort softly. for every moment of ptsd that threw cheryl back into those days at the sisters of quiet mercy, whether it was the feeling of cold water on her skin reminding her of being thrown into a bath of ice, or just the painful memories of sister agnes’s clawlike grip, there was toni brushing her hair back with a small smile and a soft kiss to her lips. 

 

toni was her _angel_ , her goddamn saving grace, the only thing pulling her through this entire ordeal…

 

toni suffered as well. there was some nights where cheryl would wake up to toni kicking fitfully in her dreams, her brow furrowed and tears running down her face until cheryl would finally wake her and hug her tightly, toni clinging to her desperately as soft whimpers escaped her lips. the girl still bore scars from her treatment there as well, cheryl’s fingers brushing across her wounds with love and care every single time they’d lie in bed together after spending the night making love, her desperation to show toni that she was still so, so beautiful in her eyes so solidified that toni would only smile knowingly and press a kiss to her lips every single time.

 

cheryl can see toni looking at her through the rearview mirror with a grin, taking in the sight of the redhead resting her chin on toni’s shoulder, and they’re almost at the safe house that veronica’s cousin had set them up with, toni revving the bike faster as they pass a bunch of children playing soccer in the middle of the road.

 

the only thing cheryl misses is the weather in riverdale. it never got as hot as it is right now in mexico. god, she can feel the sweat clinging to her skin despite the wind whipping past her body, and her skin is pale and sensitive. toni has spent a lot of her time here rubbing sunscreen and lotion on cheryl’s burned body, but truthfully…she would rather suffer a thousand sunburns over leaving this beautiful place…

 

cheryl hears the sound of a plane overheard, and her gaze moves upwards toward the sky, her eyes narrowing in a squint as she sees the shadow of a plane passing over the sun, and her heart pounds against her chest erratically at the sight. she can’t help but wonder if that’s the plane that is carrying her twin brother closer and closer to her destination.

 

she’s nervous. jason’s flight to mexico was steadily drawing closer and closer, and there was a good chance that the plane she’s staring at right now actually _does_ carry jason inside it. cheryl was less than an hour away from reuniting with her brother for the first time in almost two years. 

 

cheryl had called him the second they had stepped foot in veronica’s cousin’s house in south carolina, and she had told jason _everything._ jason had been enraged, and veronica’s cousin had told jason that he would keep the girls safe in mexico until he arrived. 

 

jason, however, had other plans.

 

“stay in mexico, cheryl, until i come and get you! i’m not only taking that horrible place down, i’m bringing mom and dad down a peg as well. you’re not staying with them anymore, baby sister, over my dead body!” 

 

and so that was that. jason had been contacting them regularly the second he had arrived back home in riverdale, and jason had kept his promise. the sisters of quiet mercy was raided only three days after jason’s return from london, jason leading sheriff keller and his officers straight inside, going off of cheryl, veronica, betty and toni’s description of the place, and sheriff keller had witnessed the many rooms filled with torture devices and ice baths…the many ‘patients’ who were malnourished and sickly…

 

every single person working there was arrested, every single ‘patient’ taken to a hospital to be looked after, and jason had told them that their statements weren’t needed for the trial, that the other ‘patients’ found inside the sisters of quiet mercy were willing to testify…

 

cheryl was thankful for that. she wasn’t quite ready to go through an entire court case, having to detail everything she went through, god…

 

jason, however, had made sure that all of their names were on the list of victims, had informed the judge that they had managed to escape and didn’t want to disclose their location out of fear of retribution from their parents, and the judge had reluctantly accepted it. 

 

the court case only lasted for about eight weeks before it was closed, the judge ordering an immediate sentencing for all those involved. effective immediately, the sisters of quiet mercy was shut down for good, each employee arrested and charged with involuntarily detainment of several individuals and negligent care, as well as torture and about a thousand other charges that ensured they would be locked up for a long time, if not permanently. 

 

cheryl can’t help but smile into toni’s jacket at the thought. jason blossom was a goddamn hurricane, swooping in and destroying any and everything that had caused his sister harm. god, cheryl _missed him…_

 

veronica’s parents had immediately sought her out once everything with the sisters had happened, according to jason. he told them they had arrived in riverdale on the first day of the court case, expecting veronica to be there. jason had told them, at veronica’s request, that veronica wanted nothing more to do with them, that she was long gone and was going to stay that way. to say they were shocked would be an understatement, and hiram lodge had apparently demanded that jason tell him where veronica was, but he refused, telling hiram that it was in his best interest to leave his daughter alone. veronica’s mother had apparently been the one to accept that, telling hiram that after what they had done, veronica deserved some space. veronica had been surprised when jason had told her that, tears springing to her eyes immediately as jason told them that as long as he lived, he wouldn’t breathe a word of their location to anyone.

 

“i’ll keep you guys safe, don’t worry.” 

 

betty hadn’t heard anything from her father, but her sister, polly, had reached out to her through jason. they had met at the court case, and polly had told him that she had no idea betty was even being held at the sisters of quiet mercy until she heard her name come up in the list of ‘patients’ on the news…once jason had gotten in contact with them with polly by his side, polly had cried at the sight of her sister, telling her she was so sorry, and that she had no idea, that her father had informed her that betty was simply enjoying graduation in cabo…

 

polly was set to come with jason to mexico, the both of them wanting nothing more than to reunite with their siblings. 

 

sweet pea and fangs had facetimed toni every single day the second they had gotten their hands on a phone and had told her that once f.p jones, the leader of the southside serpents, had found out what toni’s uncle had done to her, he had kicked her uncle out of the serpents and out of riverdale entirely, demanding he leave and never return lest he suffer the worst fate possible. they told her she was welcome to come back home whenever she wanted, that f.p was sorry for everything, but toni had told them she wasn’t quite ready to face riverdale just yet.

 

that, however, was a lie. the truth is, _cheryl_ wasn’t ready to go home just yet. jason, somehow, miraculously, had managed to get emancipation papers set up for cheryl to release her from clifford and penelope’s grasp. all she needed to do was sign them now, and an official court hearing would take place, but jason had told her he was confident they would win, that after the horrors that were going on behind the scenes at the sisters of quiet mercy were exposed, any parent who threw their child in there knowing what was going on wasn’t worthy of being a parent at all, and any judge who disagreed with him didn’t deserve to be a judge. 

 

and cheryl is happy. is glad for jason’s help, but she isn’t _ready_ to face them just yet…to look them in the eyes, knowing that they knew what was going to happen to her in that place…

 

god, how could they be her parents, how could she have been dealt such a shitty fucking card in life to get parents like them?

 

toni had agreed to stay behind with her in mexico until she was ready, and for that, she was thankful. toni could be reuniting with her family right now, but she refused to leave cheryl behind. the thought itself has her burying her head into toni’s back, breathing in the scent of leather and something else that’s just so purely the pink haired girl…

 

toni pulls into the driveway of the safehouse, the bike rumbling to a stop before she kicks down the stand and turns the ignition off. cheryl swings her leg off the bike, wincing slightly from the stiffness in her thighs as she grips toni’s shoulders for balance. she removes her helmet, toni doing the same before she swings off the bike as well, and she sits down on the seat of it facing cheryl, her helmet resting on her lap as she raises an eyebrow at cheryl.

 

“you nervous?” she asks softly, reaching out to take cheryl’s hand in her own. cheryl licks her lips, exhaling deeply as she simply gives toni a curt nod.

 

“a little.” she says with a shrug, looking down at their interlaced hands and avoiding toni’s gaze completely.

 

she is nervous, yes, but more than anything…she’s scared that jason is going to try and convince her to come home. cheryl isn’t ready to leave mexico yet…everything had been so perfect for the last three months, living with her two best friends and her girlfriend…she doesn’t want to lose this by going back home to a place that has only ever brought her despair and pain.

 

but she knows toni misses her family, misses sweet pea and fangs…she’d be selfish to keep toni away from riverdale for much longer…

 

toni pulls her close, her hands coming to rest on cheryl’s hips as she spreads her legs on the bike to accommodate the girl between them. 

 

“i think i know you well enough by now, blossom, to know when you’re lying. you can talk to me, you know you can, right?” toni murmurs, her head leaning forward to rest against cheryl’s collarbone. cheryl smiles, reaching her hands up to run them through toni’s pink hair softly. 

 

“i know.” she whispers. toni looks up at her, and cheryl’s hands move to cradle her cheeks, thumbs brushing over the apples of her cheekbones lovingly as she waits patiently for cheryl to continue. 

 

instead, cheryl leans her head down and kisses her, pillowy lips capturing toni’s bottom one and sucking gently as the pink haired serpent pulls cheryl impossibly closer to her, not an inch of space between their bodies. 

 

“cher, come on…talk to me.” toni grumbles against her lips, teeth nipping lightly at cheryl’s bottom lip in reprimand, and cheryl hesitates for a few moments before she sighs and pulls back slightly to look into toni’s eyes.

 

“you miss riverdale, toni. you miss sweet pea and fangs…your family. and i don’t want to keep you away from your family. it would be so fucking selfish of me to do that. but i can’t bring it in myself to leave this place. god, the last three months have been _perfect,_ toni, i don’t want to lose that…” cheryl whispers softly. toni’s eyes narrow in thought, her brow furrowing in a frown before she licks her lips and shakes her head.

 

“cheryl, who said anything about going back to riverdale?” she asks in confusion. cheryl shakes her head.

 

“no one, but jason-.”

 

“shouldn’t expect you to go back home after everything that’s happened. cheryl, you and me…we’re together now. whatever decisions we make, we make them _together_ , okay? if you don’t want to go back home, then we won’t. we’ll stay right here, forever if we have to. why do you think i asked that guy at the bar if he was hiring the other day? we’ve gotta keep ourselves afloat out here, we can’t live off veronica’s cousin for the rest of our lives.” toni says with a chuckle. cheryl blinks away her tears in shock. 

 

toni…toni wants to stay?

 

“you want to stay? but-but what about the serpents?” cheryl stammers, and toni shrugs with a sad smile.

 

“they can survive without me, there’s plenty of serpents to go around. and it’s not like fangs and sweet pea can’t come here to visit…they’ll love mexico, trust me.” toni says with a shrug. 

 

cheryl is in complete and utter disbelief. is toni really willing to do all this for her? set up a new life in another state, give up her life as a southside serpent…for her?

 

“toni, are…are you sure? are you sure you’re willing to give up your family?” she whispers. toni rolls her eyes, but she smiles nonetheless and reaches up to brush her thumb along cheryl’s jawline affectionately.

 

“i’d do anything for you, cheryl. at the end of the day, i’m so much more happier being here with you than i ever was being a southside serpent. and sure, i’m gonna miss sweet pea and fangs, but like i said, they can visit us here. besides, this place is beautiful, cheryl. why would i wanna leave?” she says softly. cheryl smiles, and she can’t help herself.

 

she throws her arms around toni’s neck and kisses her deeply, toni’s tongue sliding into her mouth languidly as she smiles against her and rests her hands on cheryl’s waist, pulling her impossibly closer. toni pulls away after a long moment, a little breathless before she licks her lips and nips on cheryl’s bottom lip teasingly.

 

“cheryl, i’ve…i’ve never actually said this before to anyone, so forgive me for being a little nervous, but…” toni exhales shakily, and cheryl frowns and pulls back slightly as toni looks into her eyes, chocolate brown boring into chocolate brown, and smiles.

 

“i love you, cheryl.” she croaks out. cheryl can’t help the soft gasp that escapes her lips, and it takes her a few moments to really process what toni has just said.

 

she loves her.

 

_she loves her._

 

“you don’t have to say it back-.”

 

“i love you too, toni.” she whispers. toni’s eyes widen before an ear splitting grin lights her face up, and toni kisses her feverishly, cheryl giggling against her because god, she does, _she does_ , this girl was the only thing keeping her sane in that fucking nunnery, and she’s felt nothing but love the second her lips made contact with toni’s in the back of archie andrews’s truck that night they escaped-

 

“hey lovebirds!” toni and cheryl break apart, the both of them looking up to see betty and veronica at the doorway. cheryl frowns when she sees the tears falling down betty’s face, her eyes bloodshot red and puffy, and she pulls herself out of toni’s grasp and runs forward with worry, but the gigantic grin on betty’s face is as clear as day. cheryl stares at her in confusion.

 

“what-.”

 

betty holds up her left hand to reveal a small diamond ring resting on her finger, and cheryl’s eyes widen as toni makes a strange noise behind her.

 

“holy shit.” toni whispers weakly, and veronica is _beaming_ behind betty as she wraps her arms around betty’s waist and rests her chin on her shoulder.

 

“just asked her this morning.” veronica says happily. betty wipes away her tears and looks at cheryl toni with nothing but _pure happiness_ shining in her eyes.

 

“will you be our best women?” betty asks softly. cheryl blinks back tears as toni laughs loudly and shakes her head.

 

“fuck, of course! when did you even buy that, veronica, what the fuck?” toni asks, running forward to wrap her arms around the both of them tightly. veronica laughs, one hand rubbing toni’s back gently.

 

“alejandro bought it years ago for me for my birthday, and i accidentally left it at his house the last time i visited before…everything. i found it at his house when we were there, and…here we are.” veronica says with a chuckle. cheryl whimpers, and she runs forward and joins the group hug, her arms wrapping around toni, veronica and betty as tightly as possible.

 

god, betty and veronica…getting married? 

 

it’s amazing, the perfect fucking ending to the nightmare they’ve all been through. it’s clear to cheryl, and probably anyone who had ever met her two best friends, that they were soulmates. betty and veronica were so patient, and kind toward each other…veronica did everything in her to make betty smile every single second of every single day, and betty was always the one able to calm veronica down with the touch of her hand, or a soft whisper in her ear…they fed off each other in the most positive way, cheryl had been observing it for the last three months…

 

and now…now they were getting married? god, what a vast difference from where they were just three months ago…

 

“i’m so happy for you two.” cheryl whispers. betty presses a kiss to her temple, and veronica runs her fingers through cheryl’s hair before all four of them pull away from each other, tears falling down each of their faces.

 

they’ve endured so much…and they’re still here. still smiling, still _loving…_

 

betty and veronica are getting married, _god…_

 

“right now, in this moment, all i can say is…thank you, veronica lodge, for having the balls to bring up the idea of escaping that place.” toni says softly, reaching out to brush a lock of hair behind veronica’s ear, and veronica chuckles as her eyes land on cheryl, the look in them filled with love. 

 

“you should be thanking cheryl. she told me that she felt like she was losing herself in that place, and that mixed with feeling like i already _had_ lost myself…i knew we wouldn’t survive in there much longer. and there was no way i was leaving without betty by my side. you just tagged along.” veronica teases, nudging toni playfully, and the pink haired girl rolls her eyes.

 

“yeah sure, that’s why you guys risked getting caught to run to isolation to get me.” she mutters. cheryl grins and leans in to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

 

“and we’d do it again, don’t you doubt that for a second.” toni wraps her arm around cheryl’s waist as she leans up to press a kiss to her cheek, and cheryl claps her hands and looks at the newly engaged couple happily.

 

“so! we have a wedding to plan! first things first, dresses-.” there’s the loud sound of a horn tooting behind them, interrupting cheryl’s words. they all turn in surprise, and if it’s even possible after all the excitement of the last five minutes, cheryl’s heart pounds even faster.

 

a cab.

 

a cab housing a blonde girl with green eyes who exits the cab with a worried expression on her face, and the more cheryl looks at her, the more she realizes that she looks a hell of a lot like betty-

 

“polly?!” betty says behind her in surprise, and cheryl looks at betty to see her staring at this girl with wide eyes filled with shock. she turns to see the girl looking at betty in surprise before they immediately brighten up, her feet dragging her forward and away from the cab.

 

“BETTY!” polly runs forward, tears immediately falling down her face, and cheryl turns just in time to see betty detach herself from veronica, both girls running toward each other as fast as they can, but cheryl doesn’t see their reunion, because someone gets out of the cab after polly-

 

his hair shines bright red in the sunlight, and he looks _exhausted_ , but the second his blue eyes land on his twin sister…

 

“cheryl?!” jason blossom’s grin is as bright as day, and cheryl is running, tears falling down her face and a loud sob escaping her chest before she’s launching herself into jason’s arms, her own wrapping around his neck as she buries her head into his shoulder-

 

god, he even smells the same, she _missed him so much…_

 

“cher, i’m so sorry, i’m so sorry!” jason whispers, his arms squeezing her so tightly, she can barely breathe, and cheryl can feel her feet leave the ground as he lifts her, the both of them sobbing in relief and despair…so many different emotions…

 

he’s here…he’s here, he’s really here, in the flesh, had worked tirelessly to bring down the people who hurt her…

 

“i missed you so much, jay jay.” cheryl whispers hoarsely. jason sighs in her ear, a hand reaching up to cup the back of her neck as he settles her feet back on the ground but doesn’t let her go.

 

“i missed you too, cheryl. i’m so sorry it’s taken so long for me to get here, i didn’t want mom and dad following me.” he says firmly, and cheryl pulls away from her, looking up at him with a worried frown. jason smiles and shakes his head, reaching up to brush her tears away with the pad of his thumbs.

 

“don’t worry, baby sister, no one knows where you are. as far as mom and dad are concerned, anyway. how are you feeling?” jason asks with worry. cheryl swallows thickly and shakes her head.

 

“i’m amazing now that you’re here, jason. thank you so much, for everything. you have no idea how much we all appreciate what you did.” she reaches down, gripping his hands in her own, and he gives them a gentle squeeze.

 

“of course, cher, i wasn’t gonna let those people get away with hurting you…” he brushes the hair that’s sticking to the tears on her skin from her face with a smile, and cheryl simply wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his chest with a whimper, breathing in his scent and relishing in the feeling of his fingers running through her hair.

 

_she’s safe…_

 

since they were kids, being in jason’s arms had always given her a sense of calm, a sense of safety and love that she never, ever got from either clifford of penelope blossom. right now, it feels like she’s five years old again, with jason holding her close after she’d gotten another beating from her mother for something small and insignificant…penelope blossom was always looking for an excuse to hurt cheryl, and fuck, back then, cheryl used to drive herself crazy with sleepless nights, wondering _why_ her mother despised her so fucking much…

 

now? she doesn’t care. penelope blossom could hate her for the rest of her life if she wanted, cheryl wasn’t going to bother giving that woman another _thought_ , she was long gone from cheryl’s life as far as the red head was concerned…

 

cheryl hears the sound of a scream behind her, and she jumps apart from jason in shock to see polly staring at the ring on betty’s finger with her hands over her mouth, and betty is crying as polly jumps up and down in excitement before she pulls betty into a hug, tears falling down both their faces. cheryl chuckles and looks up at jason, who is frowning in confusion.

 

“that’s polly’s sister, betty. veronica is her girlfriend, the one with the dark hair…” cheryl points at veronica, who is standing beside toni, watching her fiancée reunite with her sister with a huge smile on her face.

 

“they just got engaged this morning.” cheryl beams at jason, who’s eyes widen before he’s smiling happily. 

 

“wow…looks like you guys are doing well here, huh?” he teases. cheryl nods once, her grin never leaving her, and jason’s eyes land on toni, his brow cocking and a smirk instantly lighting up his face.

 

“and i’m guessing that’s toni…your pink haired girlfriend.” he teases, nudging cheryl playfully. she feels her cheeks flush with color as she nods, her eyes never leaving toni’s, who is looking at her with the softest expression on her face, lips turned up in an adoring smile…

 

“let me get our bags and pay the cab driver, then we’ll go inside and talk, okay?” jason says, gripping her shoulder, and cheryl nods at him before she makes her way over to toni. the pink haired girl immediately reaches out, wrapping her hands around cheryl’s waist and pulling her in gently.

 

“he seems amazing, cher.” 

 

“he is…i can’t wait for you to meet him, he’s just grabbing his and polly’s bags.”

 

“polly, this is cheryl, jason’s sister.” cheryl turns at the sound of her name, toni’s hands dropping from her waist to see betty and her sister in front of her, polly watching her with a sweet smile.

 

“it’s nice to finally meet you, cheryl. jason has been so worried about you, from the day i met him to the second we touched down here, he hasn’t stopped thinking about you.” polly tells her softly. cheryl smiles and immediately moves forward to hug the girl.

 

“thank you, for being by his side, polly. i know how strange it all must have been-.”

 

“oh no, don’t be silly, it wasn’t strange at all! jason is…he’s a good guy.” cheryl raises an eyebrow, and she pulls away from polly to see her cheeks are flushed, a shy look in her eyes as she looks back at the cab to see jason paying the driver. cheryl finds herself smirking.

 

maybe this whole ordeal was good for even more than just cheryl finding her soulmate…maybe her brother had just found his…

 

“this is toni topaz, and this…polly, this is veronica lodge…my fiancée.” betty says, her grin widening as she rolls the word around in her tongue, and veronica smiles and steps forward, about to extend her hand when polly grabs her and pulls her in for a bone crushing hug.

 

“it’s so nice to meet you, veronica. god, you’ve given my sister so much happiness…i’ve never seen her so cheerful before, despite everything she’s been through.” polly whispers. veronica’s eyes are wide in shock, but they soften at polly’s words, her gaze moving to betty, who mouths an ‘i love you’ to the raven haired girl.

 

“god, it’s betty who has given me so much happiness, polly. i would’ve died in that place if it wasn’t for your sister, of that, i’m sure.” veronica says softly. polly smiles, turning to look at betty before she extends her hand for betty to take, which she does. 

 

“alright, i got our bags, polly.” cheryl turns as jason joins them again, and she sees the twinkly-eyed look jason and polly share with each other, a smirk instantly lighting her face up as she reaches out and wraps an arm around his waist before turning to the others. 

 

“jason, this is betty, polly’s sister.” he smiles at betty politely, and betty surprises him by rushing forward to hug him, jason blinking in surprise before he returns the hug with a smile.

 

“thank you for everything, jason.” betty says softly.

 

“of course, my pleasure.” he tells her. betty lets him go, and cheryl smiles and turns to veronica.

 

“this is betty’s fiancée, veronica.” 

 

“nice to meet you, jason. and like betty said, thank you for everything.” veronica moves forward to hug him now, and cheryl turns to toni, reaching out to grip her hand before looking up at jason nervously.

 

“and…this is toni. my girlfriend.” she says softly. toni smiles, and jason’s the one to lean forward for a hug now, his arms wrapping around toni’s small body as she looks up at cheryl in surprise. 

 

“it’s nice to meet you, toni.” he whispers. toni smiles, and she rubs his back once before patting it a little awkwardly.

 

“nice to meet you too, jason. and it’s the third thank you, but you’re gonna get it. thank you for shutting the sisters down. that place was a nightmare.” jason nods solemnly as he pulls away, and he looks at each of the girls in front of him before he nods inside the house.

 

“shall we go in? we can discuss absolutely everything in there, it’s a little hot out here.” he says, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead, and veronica nods with a smile.

 

“yeah, of course, i’ll get you guys some water and get the a/c on. make yourselves at home. there’s a guest bedroom down the hall, but i’ll show you it later, just leave the bags at the doorway.” polly and jason make their way inside, betty trailing behind her sister and still holding her hand before she reaches out and grabs veronica’s, dragging her inside as well. cheryl goes to follow them, but a hand in her own stops her, and she turns to see toni smiling widely at her as she pulls her in close.

 

“i’m sorry, i know i shouldn’t be pulling you away from your brother-.”

 

“no, it’s okay, toni. what’s wrong?” cheryl asks her with worry. toni purses her lips, but she shakes her head and wraps her arms around cheryl’s neck, cheryl’s hands immediately moving down to grip her waist. 

 

“nothing’s wrong. i just wanna say that…that despite everything we went through in that hellhole…i’m really glad we met each other, cheryl. god, it kills me to even think that we could’ve met each other years ago…opposite sides of the tracks…” she murmurs. cheryl sighs, but she tucks a lock of hair behind toni’s ear gently with a shake of her head.

 

“it doesn’t matter. we were always destined to meet each other, i believe that. there’s no way you weren’t meant to be in my life, toni topaz. you give me so much, you have no idea…” cheryl trails off thickly, blinking back tears, and when a rogue one falls down her cheek, toni brushes it away before she stands on her tiptoes to bring her face closer to cheryl’s.

 

“i love you, cheryl. forever and always.” she whispers. cheryl sniffs back her tears and smiles, giving toni the smallest of nods.

 

“i love you too, toni. forever and always.” she whispers back. toni smiles, and she finally closes the gap between them, kissing cheryl with as much passion as she possibly can, tongue sliding against cheryl’s, pulling a groan out of the girl-

 

“hey! stop making out and get your cute butts in here!” veronica yells from inside the house, and toni pulls away from cheryl with a roll of her eyes before grabbing her hand and pulling her inside the house, cheryl grinning in a daze behind her.

 

because she’s finally free. because despite her worry over returning to riverdale, and her worry over the court case that's looming in the future...she knows that with toni by her side, she can get through _anything_ and _everything_ life throws her way. because in this moment...with her two best friends, a new friend, her brother, and her girlfriend all sitting in a living room with smiles on their faces...in this moment, _she's free._

 

free to be whoever she wants to be. whether it’s prom queen, or the girl who escaped hell with her two best friends and her soulmate by her side. 

 

she’s free to be cheryl, the girl who loves toni topaz. and god, it feels so fucking _good_ to be free. 

 

because if she isn’t that…then what’s the point in her living?


End file.
